THE 
 LIBRARY OF USEFUL STORIES 
 
THE STORY OF 
 
 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS 
 OF THE WEST 
 
 BY 
 
 ROBERT E. ANDERSON, M.A., F.A.S. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EAST 
 
 Venitfnt annis saecula sens 
 Quibus Oceanus vincula rerum 
 Laxet, et ingens pateat tellus 
 Tethys que novos detegat orbes. 
 SENECA. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 1904 
 
58 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1903, BY 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 
 
 Published February, 190 4 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION .... . . . . 9 
 
 I. PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA . 19 
 
 II. " DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN" . 36 
 
 III. THE EXTINCT CIVILIZATION OF THE AZTECS . 54 
 
 IV. AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY . . . . ".*. 71 
 
 V. MEXICO BEFORE THE SPANISH INVASION . 88 
 
 VI. ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS . . . . 106 
 
 VII. CORTES AND MONTEZUMA . . . .135 
 
 VIII. BALBOA AND THE ISTHMUS .... 164 
 
 IX. EXTINCT CIVILIZATION OF PERU . . . 172 
 
 X. PlZARRO AND THE INCAS . 1 86 
 
 193712 
 
MAPS, ETC. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Prehistoric Structure, Uxmal (Yucatan) . . Frontispiece 
 Imaginary Continent, South of Africa and Asia . .12 
 Remains of a Norse Church at Katortuk, Greenland . 21 
 Map of Vinland ... .... 24 
 
 The Dighton Stone in the Taunton River, Massachusetts 27 
 The Dighton Stone. Fig. 2 . . . . . .28 
 
 Cipher Autograph of Columbus . . . . .46 
 
 Chulpa or Stone Tomb of the Peruvians . . 87 
 
 Quetzalcoatl . . . . . . . -93 
 
 Ancient Bridge near Tezcuco . . . . . . 100 
 
 Teocalli, Aztec Temple for Human Sacrifices . . .105 
 Monolith Doorway. Near Lake Titicaca. Fig. I . . 1 73 
 Image over the Doorway shown in Fig. I. Near Lake 
 
 Titicaca. Fig. 2 . . . . . .175 
 
 The Quipu . . . - .. ... . .180 
 
 Gold Ornament (? Zodiac) from a Tomb at Cuzco . . 182 
 
EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF 
 THE WEST 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 THROUGHOUT all the periods of European his 
 tory, ancient or modern, no age has been more re 
 markable for events of first-rate importance than 
 the latter half of the fifteenth century. The rise of 
 the New Learning, the "discovery of the world 
 and of man," the displacement of many outworn 
 beliefs, these with other factors produced an 
 awakening that startled kings and nations. Then 
 felt they like Balboa, when 
 
 with eagle eyes 
 
 He stared at the Pacific, and all his men 
 Looked at each other with a wild surmise 
 Silent, upon a peak in Darien. 
 
 It was at this historical juncture that the "middle 
 ages" came to an end, and modern Europe had 
 its beginning. (See Chapter II.) 
 
 Why was Europe so long in discovering the 
 vast Continent which all the time lay beyond the 
 Western Ocean? Simply because every skipper 
 and every "Board of Admiralty" believed that this 
 world on which we live and move is flat and level. 
 They did not at all realize the fact that it is ball- 
 
 9 
 
io EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 shaped ; and that when a ball is very large (say, as 
 large as a balloon), then any small portion of the 
 surface must appear flat and level* to a fly or 
 "mite" traveling in that vicinity. Homer believed 
 that our world is a flat and level plain, with a 
 great river, Oceanus, flowing round it ; and for 
 many ages that seemed a very natural and suffi 
 cient theory. The Pythagoreans, it is true, argued 
 that our earth must be spherical, but why? Oh, 
 said they, because in geometry the sphere is the 
 "most perfect" of all solid figures. Aristotle, be 
 ing scientific, gave better reasons for believing 
 that the earth is spherical or ball-shaped. He said 
 the shadow of the earth is always round like the 
 shadow of a ball ; and the shadow of the earth can 
 be seen during any eclipse of the moon ; therefore, 
 all who see that shadow on the moon s disk know, 
 or ought to know, that the earth is ball-shaped. 
 Another reason given by Aristotle is that the alti 
 tude of any star above the horizon changes when 
 the observer travels north or south. For example, 
 if at London a star appears to be 40 above the 
 northern horizon, and at York the same star at 
 the same instant appears 42^2, it is evident that 
 2^ is the difference (increase) of altitude at 
 York compared with London.. Such an observa 
 tion shows that the road from London to York is 
 not over a flat, level plane, but over the curved 
 surface of a sphere, the arc of a circle, in fact. 
 
 Herodotus, the father of history, was a good 
 geographer and an experienced traveler, yet his 
 only conception of the world was as a flat, wide- 
 extending surface. In Egypt he was told how 
 Pharaoh Necho had sent a crew of Phenicians to 
 explore the coast of Africa by setting out from the 
 
INTRODUCTION II 
 
 Red Sea, and how they sailed south till they had 
 the sun on their right hand. "Absurd !" says 
 Herodotus, in his naive manner, "this story I can 
 not believe." In Egypt, as in Greece or Europe 
 generally, the sun rises on the left hand, and at 
 noon casts a shadow pointing north ; whereas in 
 South Africa the sun at noon casts a shadow 
 pointing south, and sunrise is therefore on the 
 right hand. The honest sailors had told the truth ; 
 they had merely "crossed the line," without know 
 ing it. If Herodotus had known that the world 
 was spherical or ball-shaped, he could easily have 
 understood that by traveling due south the sun 
 must at last appear at noon to the north instead 
 of the south. A counterpart to the story of the 
 Phenician sailors occurs in Pliny : he tells how 
 some ambassadors came to the Roman Emperor 
 Claudius from an island in the south of Asia, and 
 when in Italy were much astonished to see the 
 sun at noon to the south, casting shadows to the 
 north. They also wondered, he says, to see the 
 Great Bear and other groups of stars which had 
 never been visible in their native land (Nat. Hist., 
 vi, 22). 
 
 That there were islands or even a continent in 
 the Western Ocean was a tradition not infrequent 
 in classical and medieval times, as we shall pres 
 ently see, but to place a continent in the Southern 
 Ocean was a greater stretch of imagination. The 
 great outstanding problem of the sources of the 
 Nile probably suggested this Southern Continent 
 to some. Ptolemy, the great Egyptian geogra 
 pher, even formed the conjecture that the South 
 ern Continent was joined to Africa by a broad 
 isthmus, as indicated in certain maps. Such a 
 
12 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 connection of the two continents would at once 
 dispose of the story that the Phenician sailors 
 had "doubled the Cape." In several maps after 
 the time of Columbus, Australia is extended west 
 ward in order to pass muster for the Southern 
 Continent. 
 
 It is with a Western Continent, however, that 
 we are now mainly concerned. What lands were 
 
 Imaginary Continent, south of Africa and Asia. [The cardi 
 nal points are shown by the four winds.] Beginning of the 
 fifteenth century. The word Brumse^the winter solstices. 
 
 imagined by the ancients in the far West under 
 the setting sun ? The mighty ocean beyond Spain 
 was to the Greeks and Latins a place of dread 
 and mystery. 
 
 "Stout was his heart and girt with triple brass," says the 
 Roman poet, "who first hazarded his weak vessel on the 
 pitiless ocean." 
 
 Even the western parts of the Mediterranean were 
 shrunk from, according to the Odyssey, without 
 
INTRODUCTION 13 
 
 speaking of the horrors of the great ocean beyond. 
 "Beyond Gades," i. e., scarcely outside of the Pil 
 lars of Hercules, the extreme limit of the ancient 
 world, "no man," said Pindar, "however daring, 
 could pass ; only a god might voyage those 
 waters !" 
 
 In spite of the dread which the ancient mariners 
 felt for the great Western Ocean, their poets 
 found it replete with charm and mystery. The 
 imagination rested upon those golden sunsets, 
 and the tales of marvel which, after long intervals, 
 sea-borne sailors had told of distant lands in the 
 West. The poets placed there the happy home 
 destined for the souls of heroes. Thus (Odys. 
 iv, 561): 
 
 No snow 
 
 Is there, nor yet great storm nor any rain, 
 But always ocean sendeth forth the breeze 
 Of the shrill West, and bloweth cool on men. 
 
 So far Homer. His contemporary, Hesiod, 
 thus describes the Elysian Fields as islands under 
 the setting sun : 
 
 There on Earth s utmost limits Zeus assigned 
 A life, a seat, distinct from human kind, 
 Beside the deepening whirlpools of the Alain, 
 In those blest Isles where Saturn holds his reign, 
 Apart from Heaven s immortals calm they share, 
 A rest unsullied by the clouds of care: 
 And yearly thrice with sweet luxuriance crown d 
 Springs the ripe harvest from the teeming Ground. 
 
 The poet Pindar places in the same mysterious 
 West "the castle of Chronos" (i. e., "Old Time"), 
 "where o er the Isles of the Blest ocean breezes 
 
14 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 blow, and flowers gleam with gold, some from 
 the land on glistening trees, while others the water 
 feeds; and with bracelets of these they entwine 
 their hands, and make crowns for their heads." 
 
 Vesper, the star of evening, was called Hes 
 perus by the Greeks ; and hence the Hesperides, 
 daughters of the Western Star, had the task of 
 watching the golden apples planted by the god 
 dess Hera in the garden of the gods, on the other 
 side of the river Oceanus. One of the labors of 
 Hercules was to fetch three of those mystic apples 
 for the king of Mycenae. The poet Euripides 
 thus refers to the Gardens of the West, when the 
 Chorus wish to fly "over the Adriatic wave" : 
 
 Or to the famed Hesperian plains, 
 Whose rich trees bloom with gold, 
 
 To join the grief -attuned strains 
 My winged progress hold; 
 
 Beyond whose shores no passage gave 
 
 The Ruler of the purple wave. 
 
 Of all the lands imagined to lie in the Western 
 Ocean by the Greeks, the most important was 
 "Atlantis." Some have thought it may possibly 
 have been a prehistoric discovery of America. 
 In any case it has exercised the ingenuity of a 
 good many modern scientists. The tale of At 
 lantis we owe to Plato himself, who perhaps 
 learned it in Egypt, just as Herodotus picked up 
 there the account of the circumnavigation of 
 Africa by the Phenician mariners. 
 
 "When Solon was in Egypt," says Plato, "he 
 had talk with an aged priest of Sais who said, 
 You Greeks are all children : you know but of 
 one deluge, whereas there have been many de- 
 
INTRODUCTION 15 
 
 structions of mankind both by flood and fire. . . . 
 In the distant Western Ocean lay a continent 
 larger than Libya and Asia together." . . . 
 
 In this Atlantis there had grown up a mighty state whose 
 kings were descended from Poseidon and had extended 
 their sway over many islands and over a portion of the 
 great continent; even Libya up to the gates of Egypt, and 
 Europe as far as Tyrrhenia, submitted to their sway. . . . 
 Afterward came a day and night of great floods and earth 
 quakes; Atlantis disappeared, swallowed by the waves. 
 
 Geologists and geographers have seriously 
 tried to find evidence of Atlantis having existed 
 in the Atlantic, whether as a portion of the Amer 
 ican continent, or as a huge island in the ocean 
 which could have served as a stepping-stone be 
 tween the Western World and the Eastern. From 
 a series of deep-sea soundings ordered by the 
 British, American, and German Governments, it 
 is now very well known that in the middle of the 
 Atlantic basin there is a ridge, running north and 
 south, whose depth is less than 1,000 fathoms, 
 while the valleys east and west of it average 3,000 
 fathoms. At the Azores the North Atlantic ridge 
 becomes broader. The theory is that a part of the 
 ridge-plateau was the Atlantis of Plato that "dis 
 appeared swallowed by the waves." (Nature, xv, 
 158, 553, xxvii, 25 ; Science, June 29, 1883.) 
 
 Buffon, the naturalist, with reference to fauna 
 and flora, dated the separation of the new and 
 old world "from the catastrophe of Atlantis" 
 (Epoques, ix, 570) ; and Sir Charles Lyell con 
 fessed a temptation to "accept the theory of an 
 Atlantis island in the northern Atlantic." (Geol 
 ogy, p. 141.) 
 
1 6 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 The following account "from an historian of 
 the fourth century B. c." is another possible refer 
 ence to a portion of America from a translation 
 "delivered in English/ 1576. 
 
 Selenus told Midas that without this worlde there is a 
 continent or percell of dry lande which in greatnesse (as 
 hee reported) was immeasureable; that it nourished and 
 maintained, by the benifite of the greene meadowes and 
 pasture plots, sundrye bigge and mighty beastes; that the 
 men which inhabite the same climate exceede the stature 
 of us twise, and yet the length of there life is not equale to 
 ours. 
 
 The historian Plutarch, in his Morals, gives an 
 account of Ogygia, with an illusion to a continent, 
 possibly America : 
 
 An island, Ogygia, lies in the arms of the Ocean, about 
 five days sail west from Britain. . . . The adjacent sea 
 is termed the Saturnian, and the continent by which the 
 great sea is circularly environed is distant from Ogygia 
 about 5,000 stadia, but from the other islands not so far. 
 
 . . One of the men paid a visit to the great island, as 
 they called Europe. From him the narrator learned many 
 things about the state of men after death the conclusion 
 being that the souls of men arrive at the Moon, wherein lie 
 the Elysian Fields of Homer. 
 
 The Greek historian, Diodorus Siculus, has a 
 similar account with curious details of an "island" 
 which might very well have been part of a conti 
 nent. Columbus believed to the last that Cuba 
 was a continent. 
 
 In the ocean, at the distance of several days sailing to 
 the west, there lies an island watered by several navigable 
 rivers. Its soil is fertile, hilly, and of great beauty. . . . 
 
INTRODUCTION 17 
 
 There are country houses handsomely constructed, with 
 summer-houses and flower-beds. The hilly district is 
 covered with dense woods and fruit-trees of every kind. 
 The inhabitants spend much time in hunting and thus 
 procure excellent food. They have naturally a good sup 
 ply of fish, their shores being washed by the ocean. . . . 
 In a word this island seems a happy home for gods rather 
 than for men (v. 19). 
 
 Another Greek writer, Lucian, in one of his 
 witty dialogues, refers to an island in the Atlantic, 
 that lies eighty days sail westward of the Pillars 
 of Hercules the extreme limit of the ancient 
 world, as has already been seen. Readers of 
 Henry Fielding and admirers of Squire Western 
 will remember how in the London of the eight 
 eenth century the limits of Piccadilly westward 
 was a tavern at Hyde Park corner called the Her 
 cules Pillars, on the site of the future Apsley 
 House.* 
 
 Although neither Greek nor Roman navigators 
 were likely to attempt a voyage into the ocean 
 beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, yet a trading ves 
 sel from Carthage or Phenicia might easily have 
 been driven by an easterly gale into, or even 
 across, the Atlantic. Some involuntary discov 
 eries were no doubt due to this chance, and the 
 reports brought to Europe were probably the 
 germs of such tales as the poets invented about 
 the fair regions of the West. In Celtic literature, 
 moreover, "Avalon" was placed far under the 
 setting sun beyond the ocean Avalon or "Glas- 
 Inis" being to the bards the Land of the Dead, 
 marvelous and mysterious. 
 
 * Tom Jones, xvi. chap. 2, 3, etc. 
 2 
 
1 8 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 In English literature of the middle ages there 
 is a remarkable passage relating to our present 
 subject, which was written long before that rise 
 of the New Learning mentioned at the beginning 
 of this chapter. It is a statement made by Roger 
 Bacon, the greatest of Oxonian scholars of the 
 thirteenth century, who, long before the Renas 
 cence, did much to restore the study of science, 
 especially in geography, chronology, and optics. 
 In his Opus Majus, the elder Bacon wrote : 
 
 More than the fourth part of the earth which we inhabit 
 is still unknown to us. ... It is evident therefore that 
 between the extreme West and the confines of India, there 
 must be a surface which comprises more than half the 
 earth. 
 
 Though Roger Bacon, to use his own words, 
 died "unheard, forgotten, buried," our recent his 
 torians place his name first in the great roll of 
 modern science. 
 
 There now remains only one quotation to make 
 from the ancients. We have been reserving it 
 for two reasons first, because it is a singularly 
 happy anticipation of the discovery of the New 
 World, so happy that it became a favorite stanza 
 with the discoverer himself. This we learn from 
 the life of the "Great Admiral/ written by his 
 son Ferdinand. 
 
 Secondly, because it adorns our title-page and 
 has been characterized as "a lucky prophecy"- 
 written in the first century A. D. The author, Sen 
 eca, was a dramatist as well as a philosopher, the 
 lines occurring at the end of one of his choruses 
 Medea, 376. We may thus translate the pro 
 phetic stanza : 
 
PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES 19 
 
 For at a distant date this ancient world 
 
 Will westward stretch its bounds, and then disclose 
 
 Beyond the Main a vast new Continent, 
 
 With realms of wealth and might. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA 
 
 i. Norse Discovery. By glancing at a map of 
 the north Atlantic, the reader will at once see 
 that the natural approach from Europe to the 
 Western Continent was by Iceland and Green 
 land especially in those early days when ocean 
 navigation was unknown. Iceland is nearer to 
 Greenland than to Norway ; and Greenland is part 
 of America. But in Iceland there were Celtic 
 settlers in the early centuries ; and even King 
 Arthur, according to the history of Geoffrey of 
 Monmouth, sailed north to that "Ultima Thule. M 
 During the ninth century a Christian community 
 had been established there under certain Irish 
 monks. This early civilization, however, was 
 destined to become presently extinct. 
 
 It was in A. D. 875, i. e., during the reign of 
 Alfred the Great in England, that the Norse earl, 
 Ingolf, led a colony to Iceland. More strenuous 
 and savage than the Christian Celts whom they 
 found there, the latter with their preaching monks 
 soon sailed to the south, and left the Northmen 
 masters of the island. The Norse colony under 
 Ingolf was strongly reenforced by Norwegians 
 who took refuge there to avoid the tyranny of 
 
20 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 their king, Harold, the Fair-haired. Ingolf built 
 the town Ingolfshof, named after him, and also 
 Reikiavik, afterward the capital, named from the 
 "reek" or steam of its hot springs. So important 
 did this colony become that in the second genera 
 tion the population amounted to 60,000. 
 
 Ingolf was admired by the poet James Mont 
 gomery (not to be confounded with Robert, whom 
 Macaulay criticized so severely), who in 1819 thus 
 wrote of him and his island : 
 
 There on a homeless soil his foot he placed, 
 Framed his hut-palace, colonized the waste, 
 And ruled his horde with patriarchal sway 
 Where Justice reigns, tis Freedom to obey. . . . 
 And Iceland shone for generous lore renowned, 
 A northern light when all was gloom around. 
 
 The next year after Ingolf had come to Iceland, Gunn- 
 biorn, a hardy Norseman, driven in his ship westerly, 
 sighted a strange land. . . . About half a century later, 
 judging by the Icelandic sagas, we learn that a wind-tossed 
 vessel was thrown upon a coast far away which was called 
 "Mickle Ireland" (Irland it Mikla)[Wmsor s Hist. Amer 
 ica, i, 61]. 
 
 Gunnbiorn s discovery was utilized by Erik the 
 Red, another sea-rover, in A. D. 980, who sailed to 
 it and, after three years stay, returned with 
 a favorable account giving it the fair name 
 Greenland. The Norse established two centers of 
 population on Greenland. It is now believed that 
 after doubling Cape Farewell, they built their first 
 town near that head and the second farther north. 
 The former, Eystribygd (i. e., "Easter Bigging"), 
 developed into a large colony, having in the four- 
 
PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES 21 
 
 teenth century 190 settlements, with a cathedral 
 and eleven churches, and containing two cities 
 and three or four monasteries. The second town, 
 Westribygd (i. e., " Wester Digging") had grown 
 to ninety settlements and four churches in the 
 same time. 
 
 The germ and root of that civilization (after 
 ward extinct, as we shall see) was due to Leif the 
 son of Red Erik, who visited Norway, the mother- 
 country, at the very close of the tenth century. 
 
 Remains of a Norse Church at Katortuk, Greenland. 
 
 He found that the king and people there had en 
 thusiastically embraced the new religion, Chris 
 tianity. Leif presently shared their fervor, and 
 decided to reject Woden, Thor, and the other 
 gods of old Scandinavia. A priest was told off 
 to accompany Leif back to Greenland, and preach 
 the new faith. It was thus that a Christian civil 
 ization first found footing in arctic America. 
 
 The ruins of those early Christian churches 
 (see illustration above) form most interesting 
 objects in modern Greenland; near the chief ruin 
 is a curious circular group of large stones. 
 
22 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 The poet of "Greenland," to whom we have 
 already referred, quotes from a Danish chronicle 
 to the effect that, in the golden age of the colony, 
 there were a hundred parishes to form the bishop 
 ric ; and that the see was ruled by seventeen bish 
 ops from A. D. 1120 to 1408. Bishop Andrew is 
 the last mentioned, ordained in 1408 by the Arch 
 bishop of Drontheim. 
 
 From the same authority we learn that accord 
 ing to some of the annals "the best wheat grew 
 to perfection in the valleys ; the forests were ex 
 tensive ; flocks and herds were numerous and very 
 large and fat." The Cloister of St. Thomas was 
 heated by pipes from a warm spring, and attached 
 to the cloister was a richly cultivated garden. 
 
 After Leif, son of Erik, had introduced Chris 
 tianity into Greenland, his next step was to extend 
 the Norse civilization still farther within the 
 American continent. News had reached him of a 
 new land, \vith a level coast, lying nine days sail 
 ing southwest of Greenland. Picking thirty-five 
 men, Leif started for further exploration. One 
 part of the new country was barren and rocky, 
 therefore Leif named it Helluland (i. e., "Stone 
 Land"), which appears to have been Newfound 
 land. Farther south they found a sandy shore, 
 backed by a level forest country, which Leif 
 named Markland (i. e., "Wood Land"), identified 
 with Nova Scotia. After two days sail, accord 
 ing to the saga account, having landed and ex 
 plored the new continent along the banks of a 
 river, they resolved to winter there. In one of 
 these explorations a German called Tyrker found 
 some grapes on a wild vine, and brought a speci 
 men for the admiration of Leif and his party. 
 
PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES 23 
 
 This country was therefore named Finland (i. e., 
 "Wine Land"), and is identified with New 
 England, part of Rhode Island, and Massachu 
 setts.* 
 
 Our Greenland poet thus refers to Leif s land 
 ing: 
 
 Wineland the glad discoverers called that shore, 
 And back the tidings of its riches bore ; 
 But soon return d with colonizing bands. 
 
 The Norsemen founded a regular settlement in 
 Vinland, establishing there a Christian commu 
 nity related to that of Greenland. Leif s brother, 
 Korvald, explored the interior in all directions. 
 With the natives, who are called "Skraelings" in 
 the sagas, they traded in furs ; these people, who 
 seemed dwarfish to the Norsemen, used leathern 
 boats and were no doubt Eskimos : 
 
 A stunted, stern, uncouth, amphibious stock. 
 
 The principal settler in Vinland was Thorfinn, 
 an Icelander, who had married a daughter-in-law 
 of Erik the Red. She persuaded Thorfinn to sail 
 to the new country in order to make a permanent 
 settlement there. In the year 1007 A. D. he sailed 
 with 1 60 men, having live stock and other colonial 
 equipments. After three years he returned to 
 Greenland, his wife having given birth to a son 
 during their first year in Vinland. From this son, 
 Snorre, it is claimed by some Norwegian his 
 torians, that Thorwaldsen, the eminent Danish 
 
 * Prof. R. B. Anderson says, "The basin of the Charles 
 River should be selected as the most probable scene of the 
 visits of Leif Erikson, etc " [v. map ] 
 
PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES 25 
 
 sculptor is descended. After the time of Thorfinn, 
 the settlement in Vinland continued to flourish, 
 having a good export trade in timber with Green 
 land. In 1 12 1 A. D. according to the Icelandic 
 saga, the bishop, Erik Upsi, visited Vinland, that 
 country being, like Iceland and Greenland, in 
 cluded in his bishopric. The last voyage to Vin 
 land for timber, according to the sagas, was in 
 
 I347- 
 
 Professor Horsford, of Cambridge, Mass., 
 finds the site of Norumbega, mentioned in various 
 old maps, on the River Charles, near Waltham, 
 Mass., and maintains that town to be identical 
 with Vinland of the Norsemen. To prove his be 
 lief in this theory, the professor built a tower 
 commemorating the Norse discoveries. He ar 
 gued that Norumbega was a corruption by the 
 Indians of the word Norvegr, a Norse form of 
 44 Norway." 
 
 The abandonment of Vinland by the Norse set 
 tlers may be compared with that of Gosnold s ex 
 pedition to the same region near the end of Queen 
 Elizabeth s reign. Gosnold was sent to plant an 
 English colony in America, after the failure of 
 Sir Walter Raleigh s settlement at Roanoke 
 (North Carolina) ; and the coast explored corre 
 sponded exactly to that which the Norse settlers 
 had named Vinland, lying between the sites of 
 Boston and New York. He gave the name Cape 
 Cod to that promontory, and also named the 
 islands Nantucket, Martha s Vineyard, and the 
 Elizabeth group. Selecting one of these for set 
 tling a colony, he built on it a storehouse and fort. 
 The scheme, however, failed, owing to the threats 
 of the natives arid the scarcity of supplies, and all 
 
26 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 the colonists sailed from Massachusetts, just as 
 the Norse settlers had done many generations pre 
 viously. 
 
 The expedition of Gosnold to Vinland, how 
 ever, bore good fruit, from the favorable report 
 of the new country which he made at home. The 
 merchants of Bristol fitted out two ships under 
 Martin Pring, and in the first voyage a great part 
 of Maine (lying north of Massachusetts) was ex 
 plored, and the coast south to Martha s Vineyard, 
 where Gosnold had been. This led to profitable 
 traffic with the natives, and three years later 
 Pring made a more complete survey of Maine. 
 
 Vinland was also the scene of the famous land 
 ing of the Mayflower, bringing its Puritans from 
 England. It was in Cape Cod Bay that she was 
 first moored. After exploring the new country, 
 just as Leif Erikson had done so many genera 
 tions previously, they chose a place on the west 
 side of the bay and named the little settlement 
 Plymouth," after the last English port from 
 which they had sailed. Farther north, still in 
 Vinland, they soon founded two other towns, 
 "Salem" and "Boston." Those three settle 
 ments have ever since been important centers of 
 energy and intelligence in Massachusetts, as well 
 as memorials of the Norse occupation of Vin 
 land. 
 
 On the occasion of a public statue being erected 
 in Boston, Mass., to the memory of Leif Erik- 
 son, a committee of the Massachusetts Historical 
 Society formally decided thus : "It is antecedently 
 probable that the Northmen discovered America 
 in the early part of the eleventh century." 
 
 Prof. Daniel Wilson, in his learned work Pre- 
 
PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES 27 
 
 historic Man (ii, 83, 85), thus gives his opinion 
 as to the Norse colony : 
 
 With all reasonable doubt as to the accuracy of details, 
 there is the strongest probability in favor of the authenticity 
 of the American Vinland. 
 
 Of the Norse colonies in Greenland there are 
 some undoubted remains, one being a stone in- 
 
 The Dighton Stone in the Taunton River, Massachusetts. 
 
 scription in runes, proving that it was made be 
 fore the Reformation, when that mode of writing 
 was forbidden by law. The stone is four miles 
 beyond Upernavik. The inscription, according to 
 Professor Rask, runs thus : 
 
 Erling the son of Sigvat, and Enride Oddsoen, 
 Had cleared the place and raised a mound 
 On the Friday after Rogation-day; 
 
 date either 1135 or 1170. 
 
28 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Rafn, the celebrated Danish archeologist, states 
 as the result of many years research, that Amer 
 ica was repeatedly visited by the Icelanders in the 
 eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries; that 
 the estuary of the St. Lawrence was their chief 
 station ; that they had coasted southward to Caro 
 lina, everywhere introducing some Christian civ 
 ilization among the natives. 
 
 A supposed rock memorial of the Norsemen 
 is the Dighton Stone in the Taunton River, Mas- 
 
 The Dighton Stone. Fig. 2. 
 
 sachusetts ; one of its sentences, according to Pro 
 fessor Rafn, being : 
 
 "Thorfinn with 151 Norse seafaring men took 
 possession of this land." 
 
 The figures and letters (whether runic or 
 merely Indian) inscribed on the Dighton Rock 
 have been copied by antiquaries at the following 
 dates: 1680, 1712, 1730, 1768, 1788, 1807, 1812. 
 The above illustration (Fig. 2) shows the last 
 mentioned. 
 
 There have been many probable traces of ancient 
 Norsemen found in America, besides those al 
 ready given. At Cape Cod, in the last generation, 
 
PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES 29 
 
 a number of hearth-stones were found under a 
 layer of peat. A more famous relic was the skel 
 eton dug up in Fall River, Mass., with an orna 
 mental belt of metal tubes made from fragments 
 of flat brass ; there were also some arrow-heads 
 of the same material. Longfellow, the New Eng 
 land poet, naturally had his attention directed to 
 this discovery (made, 1831), and founded on it 
 his ballad The Skeleton in Armor, connecting it 
 with the Round Tower at Newport. The latter, 
 according to Professor Rafn, "was erected decid 
 edly not later than the twelfth century." 
 
 I was a Viking old, 
 
 My deeds, though manifold, 
 
 No Skald in song has told 
 
 No Saga taught thee! . . . 
 Far in the Northern Land 
 By the wild Baltic s strand 
 I with my childish hand 
 
 Tamed the ger-falcon. 
 Oft to his frozen lair 
 Tracked I the grisly bear, 
 While from my path the hare 
 
 Fled like a shadow. 
 
 Scarce had I put to sea 
 Bearing the maid with me 
 Fairest of all was she 
 
 Among the Norsemen! 
 Three weeks we westward bore, 
 And when the storm was o er, 
 Cloud-like we saw the shore 
 
 Stretching to leeward; 
 There for my lady s bower, 
 Built I this lofty tower 
 Which to this very hour 
 
 Stands looking seaward ! 
 
30 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Sir Clements Markham, of the Royal Geo 
 graphical Society, believes that the Norse settlers 
 in Greenland were driven from their settlements 
 there by Eskimos coming, not from the interior of 
 America, but from West Siberia along the polar 
 regions, by Wrangell Land [v. Journal, R. G. S., 
 1865, and Arctic Geography, 1875]. 
 
 There was much curiosity from the sixteenth to 
 the nineteenth century as to the site of the lost 
 colonies of Greenland which had so long flour 
 ished. In 1568 and 1579 the King of Denmark 
 sent t\vo expeditions, the latter in charge of an 
 Englishman, but no traces were found. At the 
 beginning of the eighteenth century some light 
 was thrown upon the problem by a missionary 
 called Egede, who first described the ruins and 
 relics observable on the west coast. By the suc 
 cess of his preaching among the Greenlanders for 
 fifteen years, assisted by other gospel mission 
 aries, the Moravians were induced to found their 
 settlements in the country, principally in the 
 southwest. 
 
 It seems probable that in early times the climate 
 of Iceland was milder than it now is. Columbus, 
 some fifteen years before his great voyage across 
 the Atlantic, sailed to this northern "Thule," and 
 reports that there \vas no ice. If so, it is surely 
 possible that Greenland also may have been 
 greener and more attractive than during the re 
 cent centuries. Why should it not at one time 
 have been fully deserving of the name by which 
 we still know it ? Some would explain the change 
 in climatic conditions by the closing in of ice 
 packs. At present Greenland is buried deep 
 under a vast, solid ice-cap from which only a few 
 
PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES 3 1 
 
 of the highest peaks protrude to show the posi 
 tion of the submerged mountains, but at former 
 periods, according to geologists, there were gar 
 dens and farms flourishing under a genial climate. 
 Others suppose that, were the ice removed, we 
 should see an archipelago of elevated islands. 
 
 2. Celtic Discovery of America. We have al 
 ready glanced at the fact that when the Norsemen 
 first seized Iceland they found that island inhab 
 ited by Irish Celts. These Christianized Celts 
 made way before the savage invaders, who did not 
 accept the Catholic religion till about the close of 
 the tenth century. Sailing south, those dispos 
 sessed Irish probably joined their brother Celts 
 who had already long held a district on the east 
 ern coast of North America, which some Norse 
 skippers called "White Man s Land," and also 
 Irland-it-Mikla (i. e., "Mickle Ireland"). Pro 
 fessor Rafn places this district on the coast of 
 Carolina. A learned memoir, published 1851, 
 attempts to prove that the mysterious "mound- 
 builders" of the Ohio Valley were of the same 
 race as the settlers on Mickle Ireland, and related 
 to the "white-bearded men" who established an 
 extinct civilization in Mexico. A French anti 
 quary, 1875, identified Mickle Ireland with On 
 tario and Quebec. Beauvois, in his Elysee trans- 
 atlantique, derives the name Labrador from the 
 Innis Labrada, an island mentioned in an ancient 
 Irish romance.* Another Irish discoverer was 
 St. Brandan,f Abbot of Cluainfert, Ireland (died 
 
 * As to the Irish claim for the pre-Columbian discovery of 
 America, see also Humboldt (Cosmos, ii, 607), and Laing 
 (Heimsk., i, 186). 
 
 t MS. Book of Lismore. 
 
32 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 May 16, 577), who was told that far in the ocean 
 lay an island which was the land promised to the 
 saints. St. Brandan set sail in company with 
 seventy-five monks, and spent seven years upon 
 the ocean in two voyages, discovering this island 
 and many others equally marvelous, including one 
 which turned out to be the back of a huge fish, 
 upon which they celebrated Easter.* 
 
 Among the Celtic claimants for discovery we 
 must also include the Welsh, who lay stress upon 
 certain resemblances between their language and 
 the dialects of the native Americans. A better ar 
 gument is the historical account taken from their 
 annals about the expedition of Prince Madoc, son 
 of a Welsh chieftain, who sailed due west in the 
 year 1170, after the rumor of the Norse discov 
 eries had reached Britain. He landed on a vast 
 and fertile continent where he settled 120 colo 
 nists. On his return to Wales he fitted out a sec 
 ond fleet of ten ships, but the annals give no re 
 port of the result. Several writers state that the 
 place of landing was near the Gulf of Mexico: 
 Hakluyt connecting the discovery with Mexico 
 (1589) and again with the West Indies (edition 
 of 1600). In the seventeenth century some au 
 thors wished to substantiate the story of Prince 
 Madoc, in order that the British claim to America 
 should antedate the Spanish claim through Co 
 lumbus. Prince Madoc is, to most readers, only 
 known by Southey s poem.f 
 
 3. Basque Discovery of America. Who are 
 the Basque people? A curious race of Spanish 
 
 * The story is given by Humboldt and D Avezac. 
 f Some quotations from Southey s poem are given in 
 Chapters V, VI. 
 
PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES 33 
 
 mountaineers, who have been as great a puzzle 
 to ethnologists and historians as their language 
 has been to philologists and scholars. We know, 
 however, that in former times they were nearly 
 all seamen, making long voyages to the north for 
 whale and Newfoundland cod fishing. They 
 have produced excellent navigators ; and possibly 
 preceded Columbus in discovering America. Se 
 bastian, the lieutenant of Magellan, was one of 
 the Basque race. Magellan did not live to com 
 plete his famous voyage, therefore Sebastian was 
 the first actual circumnavigator of our globe. 
 
 Francois Michel, in his work Le Pays Basque, 
 says that the Basque sailors knew the coasts of 
 Newfoundland a century before the time of Co 
 lumbus ; and that it was from one of these ocean 
 mariners that he first learned the existence of a 
 continent beyond the Atlantic. Other arguments 
 are derived from comparing the peculiarities of 
 the Basque tongue with those of the American 
 dialects. Whitney, an American scholar, con 
 cludes that "No other dialect of the Old World 
 so much resembles the American languages in 
 structure as the Basque." 
 
 4. Jewish Discovery of America. There is 
 one claim for the discovery of America, which, 
 though quite improbable, if not impossible, has 
 been upheld and sanctioned by many scholarly 
 works in several languages. It is argued that the 
 red Indians represent the ten "Lost Tribes" of 
 the Hebrew people who had been deported to 
 Assyria and Media (v. Extinct Civilizations of 
 the East, p. 109). The theory was first started 
 by some Spanish priest-missionaries, and has 
 since been defended by many learned divines both 
 3 
 
34 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 in England and America, one leading argument 
 being certain similarities in the languages. Catlin 
 (v. Smithsonian Report, 1885) enumerates many 
 analogies which he found among the Western 
 Indians. The most authoritative statement is that 
 of Lord Kingsborough in the well-known Mex 
 ican Antiquities ( 1830-^48), chiefly in Vol. VII. 
 Some writers actually quote a statement made in 
 the Mormon Bible ! Leading New England di 
 vines, like Mayhew and Cotton Mather, espoused 
 the cause with similar faith, as well as Roger 
 Williams and William Penn. 
 
 5. The Italian Discovery of America. Not 
 through Columbus the Genoese, or Amerigo Ves 
 pucci, the Florentine, although they were cer 
 tainly Italians, but by two Venetians, Nicolo and 
 Antonio Zeno. In A. D. 1380 or 1390 these brothers 
 Zeni were shipwrecked in the North Atlantic, and, 
 when staying in Frislanda, made the acquaint 
 ance of a sailor who, after twenty-six years ab 
 sence, had returned, giving them the following 
 report : 
 
 \ "Being driven west in a gale, he found an island 
 with civilized inhabitants, who had Latin books, 
 but could not speak Norse, and whose country was 
 called Estotiland, while a region on the mainland, 
 farther south, to which he had also gone, was 
 called Drogeo. Here he had met with cannibals. 
 Still farther south was a great country with towns 
 and temples/ 
 
 The two brothers Zeni finally conveyed this ac 
 count to another brother in Venice, together with 
 a map of those distant regions, but these docu 
 ments remained neglected till 1558, when a de 
 scendant compiled a book to embody the informa- 
 
PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERIES 35 
 
 tion, accompanied by a map, now famous as "the 
 Zeno map." 
 
 Humboldt, with reference to this map, remarks 
 that it is singular that the name Frislanda should 
 have been applied by Columbus to an island south 
 of Iceland. Washington Irving (in his Life of 
 Columbus) explains the book by a desire to appeal 
 to the national pride of Italy, since, if true, the 
 discovery of the brothers would antedate that of 
 Columbus by a century. 
 
 Malte-Brun, the distinguished geographer, dis 
 tinctly accepted the Zeni narrative as true, and 
 believed that it was by colonists from Greenland 
 that the Latin books had reached Estotiland. 
 Another strong advocate afterward appeared in 
 Mr. Major, an official in the map department of 
 the British Museum, who believed that much of 
 the map in question represented genuine informa 
 tion of the fourteenth century, mixed with some 
 spurious parts inserted by the younger Zeno. Mr. 
 Major s paper on The Site of the Lost Colony 
 of Greenland Determined, and the pre-Columbian 
 Discoveries of America Confirmed, appeared in 
 R. Geog. Soc. Journal, 1873 ; v. also Proc. Mass. 
 Hist. Soc., 1874. Nordenskjold also accepted the 
 chief results of this Italian discovery, and as an 
 arctic explorer of experience, his opinion carries 
 weight. Mercator and Hugo Grotius were also 
 believers in the Zeni account. 
 
36 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 "DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN" 
 
 AT the beginning of this book a reference was 
 made to the great upheaval in European history 
 called the "Renascence" (Fr. renaissance) or Re 
 vival of Learning. In 1453 tne Turks took Con 
 stantinople, driving the Greek scholars to take 
 refuge in Italy, which at once became the most 
 civilized nation in Europe. Poetry, philosophy, 
 and art thence found their way to France, Eng 
 land, and Germany, being greatly assisted by the 
 invention of printing, which just then was begin 
 ning to make books cheaper than they ever had 
 been. At the same time feudalism was ruined, be 
 cause the invention of gunpowder had previously 
 been changing the art of war. For example, the 
 King of France, Louis XI, as well as the King 
 of England, Henry VII, had entire disposal of 
 the national artillery ; and therefore overawed 
 the barons and armored knights. Neither moated 
 fortresses nor mail-clad warriors, nor archers with 
 bows and arrows, could prevail against powder 
 and shot. The middle ages had come to an end ; 
 modern Europe was being born. France had be 
 come concentrated by the union of the south to 
 the north on the conclusion of the "Hundred 
 Years War/ the final expulsion of the English, 
 and the abolition of all the great feudatories of 
 the kingdom. England, at the same time, had 
 entirely swept away the rule of the barons by the 
 recent "Wars of the Roses," and Henry had 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN 37 
 
 strengthened his position by alliance with France, 
 Spain, and Scotland. Spain, by the expulsion of 
 the Moors from Granada in A. D. 1492, was for the 
 first time concentrated into one great state by the 
 union of Isabella s Kingdom of Castile-Leon to 
 Ferdinand s Kingdom of Aragon-Sicily. 
 
 From the importance of the word renaissance 
 as indicating the "movement of transition from 
 the medieval to the modern world," Matthew 
 Arnold gave it the English form "renascence" 
 adopted by J. R. Green, Coleridge, and others. In 
 Germany, this great revival of letters and learn 
 ing was contemporaneous with the Reformation, 
 which had long been preparing (e. g., in England 
 since John Wyclif ) and was specially assisted by 
 the invention of printing, which we have just men 
 tioned. The minds of men everywhere were 
 expanded: "whatever works of history, science, 
 morality, of entertainment seemed likely to in 
 struct or amuse were printed and distributed 
 among the people at large by printers and book 
 sellers." 
 
 Thus it was that, though the Turks never had 
 any pretension to learning or culture, yet their 
 action in the middle of the fifteenth century in 
 directly caused a marvelous tide of civilization to 
 overflow all the western countries of Europe. 
 Another result in the same age was the increase 
 of navigation and exploration the discovery of 
 the world as well as of man. When the Turks 
 became masters of the eastern shores of the 
 Mediterranean, the European merchants were 
 prevented from going to India and the East by 
 the overland route, as had been done for genera 
 tions. Thus, since geography was at this very 
 
38 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 time improved by the science of Copernicus and 
 others, the natural inquiry was how to reach India 
 by sea instead of going overland. Columbus, 
 therefore, sailed due west to reach Asia, and 
 stumbled upon a "New World" without knowing 
 what he did ; then Cabot, sailing from Bristol, 
 sailed northwest to reach India, and stumbled 
 upon the continent of America ; and during the 
 same reign (Henry VII) the Atlantic coast of 
 both North and South America was visited by 
 English, Portuguese, or Spanish navigators. The 
 third expedition to reach India by sea was under 
 De Gama. He set out in the same year as Cabot, 
 sailing into the South Atlantic, and ultimately did 
 find the west coast of India at Calicut, after 
 rounding the cape. 
 
 The mere enumeration of so many events, all 
 of first-rate importance, proves that that half cen 
 tury (say from A. D. 1460 to 1520) must be called 
 "an age of marvels," sccclum niirabile. The con 
 currence of so many epoch-making results gave a 
 great impulse, not only to the study of literature, 
 science, and art, but to the exploration of many 
 unknown countries in America, Africa, and Asia, 
 and the universal expansion of human knowledge 
 generally. 
 
 I. We shall now consider the first of these dis 
 coverers, who was also the greatest. 
 
 COLUMBUS, the Latinized form of the Italian 
 Colombo, Spanish, Colon. This Genoese navi 
 gator must throughout all history be called the 
 discoverer of America, notwithstanding all the 
 work of smaller men. From his study of geo 
 graphical books in several languages, Columbus 
 had convinced himself that our planet is spherical 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN 39 
 
 or ball-shaped, not a flat, plane surface. Till then 
 India had always been reached by traveling over 
 land toward the rising sun. Why not sail west 
 ward from Europe over the ocean, and thus come 
 to the eastern parts of Asia by traveling toward 
 the setting sun ? By doing so, since our world is 
 ball-shaped, said Columbus, we must inevitably 
 reach Zipango (i. e., "Japan") an d Cathay (i. e., 
 "China"), which are the most eastern parts of 
 Asia. India then will be a mere detail. Judging 
 from the accounts of Asia and its eastern islands . 
 given by Marco Polo, a Venetian, as well as from 
 the maps sketched by Ptolemy, the Egyptian 
 geographer, Columbus believed that the east coast 
 of Asia was not so very far from the west coast 
 of Europe. Columbus was confirmed in this opin 
 ion by a learned geographer of Florence, named 
 Paul, and henceforward Impatiently waited for an 
 opportunity of testing the truth of his theory. 
 
 He convinced himself, but could not convince 
 any one else, that a westerly route to India was 
 quite feasible. First he laid his plans before the 
 authorities at Genoa, who had for generations 
 traded with Asia by the overland journey, and 
 ought therefore to have been glad to learn of this 
 new alternative route, since the Turks were now 
 playing havoc with the other; but no, they told 
 Columbus that his idea was chimerical ! Next he 
 applied to the court of France. "Ridiculous !" was 
 the reply, accompanied with a polite sneer. Next 
 Columbus sent his scheme to Henry VII of Eng 
 land, a prince full of projects, but miserly. "Too 
 expensive !" was the Tudor s reply, though pres 
 ently, after the Spanish success, he became eager 
 to despatch expeditions from Bristol under the 
 
40 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Cabots. Then Columbus, by the advice of his 
 brother, who had settled in Lisbon as a map- 
 maker, approached King John, seeking patronage 
 and assistance, pleading the foremost position of 
 Portugal among the maritime states. The Portu 
 guese neglected the golden opportunity, ocean 
 navigation not being in their way as yet; their 
 skippers preferred "to hug the African shore." 
 
 At last Columbus gained the ear of Isabella, 
 Queen of Castile ; she believed in him and tried 
 to get the assistance of her husband, Ferdinand, 
 King of Aragon, in providing an outfit for the 
 great expedition. Owing to Ferdinand s war in 
 expelling the Moors from Granada, Columbus 
 had still to wait several years. 
 
 In a previous year, 1477, Columbus had sailed 
 to the North Atlantic, perhaps in one of those 
 Basque whalers already referred to, going "a 
 hundred leagues beyond Thule." If that means 
 Iceland, as is generally supposed, it seems most 
 probable that, when conversing with the sailors 
 there he must have heard how Leif, with his 
 Norsemen, had discovered the American coasts 
 of Newfoundland and Vinland some five cen 
 turies earlier, and how they had settled a colony 
 on the new continent. Other writers have pointed 
 out that Columbus could very well have heard of 
 Vinland and the Northmen before leaving Genoa, 
 since one of the Popes had sanctioned the ap 
 pointment of a bishop over the new diocese. If so, 
 the visit of Columbus to Iceland probably gave 
 him confirmation as to the Norse discovery of the 
 American continent. 
 
 When at last King Ferdinand had taken Gra 
 nada from the Moors, Columbus was put in com- 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN 4* 
 
 mand of three ships, with 120 men. He set sail 
 from the port of Palos, in Andalusia, on a Fri 
 day, August 3, 1492, first steering to the. Canary 
 Islands, and then standing due west. In Septem 
 ber, to the amazement of all on board, the com 
 pass was seen to "vary" : an important scientific 
 discovery viz., that the magnetic needle does not 
 always point to the pole-star. Some writers have 
 imagined that the compass was for the first time 
 utilized for a long journey by Columbus, but the 
 occult power of the magnetic needle or "lode- 
 stone" had been known for ages before the fif 
 teenth century. The ancient Persians and other 
 "wise men of the East" used the lodestone as a 
 talisman. Both the Mongolian and Caucasian 
 races used it as an infallible guide in traveling 
 across the mighty plains of Asia. The Cynosure 
 in the Great Bear was the "guiding star," whether 
 by sea or land; but when the heavens were 
 wrapped in clouds, the magic stone or needle 
 served to point exactly the position of the unseen 
 star. What Columbus and his terrified crews dis 
 covered was the "variation of the compass," due 
 to the fact that the magnetic needle points, not to 
 the North Star, but to the "magnetic pole," a 
 point in Canada to the west of Baffin s Bay and 
 north of Hudson Bay. 
 
 If Columbus had continued steering due west 
 he would have landed on the continent of America 
 in Florida ; but before sighting that coast the 
 course was changed to southwest, because some 
 birds were seen flying in that direction. The first 
 land reached was an island of the Bahama group, 
 which he named Sail Salvador. As the Spanish 
 boats rowed to shore they were welcomed by 
 
42 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 crowds of astonished natives, mostly naked, un 
 less for a girdle of wrought cotton or plaited 
 feathers. Hence the lines of Milton: 
 
 Such of late 
 
 Columbus found the American, so girt 
 With feathered cincture, naked else and wild, 
 Among the trees on isles and woody shores. 
 
 The spot of landing was formerly identified by 
 Washington Irving and Baron Humboldt with 
 "Cat Island" ; but from the latest investigation it 
 is now believed to have been Watling s Island. 
 Here he landed on a Friday, October 12, 1492. 
 
 So little was then known of the geography of 
 the Atlantic or of true longitude, that Columbus 
 attributed these islands to the cast coast of Asia. 
 He therefore named them "Indian Islands," as if 
 close to Hindustan, a blunder that has now been 
 perpetuated for four hundred and ten years. The 
 natives were called "Indians" for the same rea 
 sons. As the knowledge of geography advanced 
 it became necessary to say "West Indies" or 
 "East Indies" respectively, to distinguish Amer 
 ican from Asiatic "Indian corn" means Ameri 
 can, but "Indian ink" means Asiatic, etc. Even 
 after his fourth and last voyage Columbus be 
 lieved that the continent, as well as the islands, 
 was a portion of eastern Asia, and he died in that 
 belief, without any suspicion of having discov 
 ered a New World. 
 
 A curious confirmation of the opinion of Co 
 lumbus has just been discovered (1894) in the 
 Florence Library, by Dr. Wieser, of Innsbruck. 
 It is the actual copy of a map by the Great Ad 
 miral, drawn roughly in a letter written from 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN 43 
 
 Jamaica, July, 1503. It shows that his belief as 
 to the part of the world reached in his voyages 
 was that it was the east coast of Asia. 
 
 The chief discovery made by Columbus in his 
 first voyage was the great island of- Cuba, which 
 he imagined to be part of a continent. Some of 
 the Spaniards went inland for sixty miles and 
 reported that they had reached a village of more 
 than a thousand inhabitants, and that the corn 
 used for food was called maize probably the 
 first instance of Europeans using a term which 
 was afterward to become as familiar as "wheat" 
 or "barley." The natives told Columbus that 
 their gold ornaments came from Cubakan, mean 
 ing the interior of Cuba ; but he, on hearing the 
 syllable kan, immediately thought of the "Khan" 
 mentioned by Marco Polo, and therefore imag 
 ined that "Cathay" (the China of that famous 
 traveler) was close at hand. The simple-minded 
 Cubans were amazed that the Spaniards had such 
 a love for gold, and pointed eastward to another 
 island, which they called Hayti, saying it was 
 more plentiful there than in Cuba. Thus Colum 
 bus discovered the second in size of all the West 
 Indian islands, Cuba being the first ; he, after 
 landing on it, called it "Hispaniola," or Little 
 Spain. Hayti in a few years became the head 
 quarters of the Spanish establishments in the 
 New World, after its capital, San Domingo, had 
 been built by Bartholomew Columbus. It was in 
 this island that the Spaniards saw the first of the 
 "caziques," or native princes, afterward so famil 
 iar during the conquest of Mexico ; he was car 
 ried on the shoulders of four men, and cour 
 teously presented Columbus with some plates of 
 
44 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 gold. In a letter to the monarchs of Spain the 
 admiral thus refers to the natives of Hayti : 
 
 The people are so affectionate, so tractable, and so 
 peaceable that I swear to your Highnesses there is not a 
 better race of men, nor a better country in the world ; . . . 
 their conversation is the sweetest and mildest in the world, 
 and always accompanied with a smile. The king is served 
 with great state, and his behavior is so decent that it is 
 pleasant to see him. 
 
 The admiral had previously described the In 
 dians of Cuba as equally simple and friendly, tell 
 ing how they had "honored the strangers as 
 sacred beings allied to heaven." The pity of it, 
 and the shame, is that those frank, unsuspicious, 
 islanders had no notion or foresight of the cruel 
 desolation which their gallant guests were pres 
 ently to bring upon the native races death, and 
 torture, and extermination ! 
 
 A harbor in Cuba is thus described by Colum 
 bus in a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella : 
 
 I discovered a river which a galley might easily enter. 
 ... I found from five to eight fathoms of water. Having 
 proceeded a considerable way up the river, everything in 
 vited me to settle there. The beauty of the river, the clear 
 ness of the water, the multitude of palm-trees and an in 
 finite number of other large and flourishing trees, the birds 
 and the verdure of the plains, ... I am so much amazed 
 at the sight of such beauty, that I know not how to de 
 scribe it. 
 
 Having lost his flag-ship, Columbus returned to 
 Spain with the two small caravels that remained 
 from his petty fleet of three, arriving in the port 
 of Palos March 15, 1493. The reception of the 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN 45 
 
 successful explorer was a national event. He en 
 tered Barcelona to be presented at court with 
 every circumstance of honor and triumph. Sit 
 ting in presence of the king and queen he re 
 lated his wondrous tale, while his attendants 
 showed the gold, the cotton, the parrots and other 
 unknown birds, the curious arms and plants, and 
 above all the nine "Indians" with their outlandish 
 trappings brought to be made Christians by bap 
 tism. Ferdinand and Isabella heaped honors 
 upon the successful navigator ; and in return he 
 promised them the untold riches of Zipango and 
 Cathay. A new fleet, larger and better equipped, 
 was soon found for a second voyage. 
 
 With his new ships, in 1498, Columbus again 
 stood due west from the Canaries ; and at last 
 discovering an island with three mountain sum 
 mits he named it Trinidad (i. e., "Trinity") 
 without knowing that he was then coasting the 
 great continent of South America. A few days 
 later he and the crew were amazed by a tumult 
 of waves caused by the fresh water of a great 
 river meeting the sea. It was the "Oronooko/ 
 afterward called Orinoco; and from its volume 
 Columbus and his shipmates concluded that it 
 must drain part of a continent or a very large 
 island. 
 
 Where Orinoco in his pride, 
 Rolls to the main no tribute tide, 
 But gainst broad ocean urges far 
 A rival sea of roaring war ; 
 While in ten thousand eddies driven 
 The billows fling their foam to heaven, 
 And the pale pilot seeks in vain, 
 Where rolls the river, where the main. 
 
46 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 That was the first glimpse which they had of 
 America proper, still imagining it was only a part 
 of eastern Asia. In the following voyage, his 
 last, Columbus coasted part of the Isthmus of 
 Darien. It was not, however, explored till the 
 visit of Balboa. 
 
 It was during his third voyage that the "Great 
 Admiral" suffered the indignity at San Domingo 
 of being thrown into chains and sent back to 
 Spain. This was done by Bobadilla, an officer 
 of the royal household, who had been sent out 
 
 Ac & 
 
 Cipher autograph of Columbus. 
 
 The interpretation of the cipher is probably: 
 
 SERVATF Christ us Mari a Yoseph^s (Christoferens). 
 
 with full power to put down misrule. The mon- 
 archs of Spain set Columbus free ; and soon after 
 ward he was provided with four ships for his 
 fourth voyage. Stormy weather wrecked this 
 final expedition, and at last he was glad to arrive 
 in Spain, November 7, 1504. He now felt that 
 his work on earth was done, and died at Valla- 
 dolid, May 20, 1506. After temporary interment 
 there his body was transferred to the cathedral 
 of San Domingo whence, 1796, some remains 
 were removed with imposing ceremonies to Ha- 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN 47 
 
 vana. From later investigations it appears that 
 the ashes of the Genoese discoverer are still in the 
 tomb of San Domingo. 
 
 It was in the cathedral of Seville, over his first 
 tomb, that King Ferdinand is said to have hon 
 ored the memory of the Great Admiral with a 
 marble monument bearing the well-known epi 
 taph: 
 
 A CASTILLA Y ARAGON 
 NUEVO MUNDO DIO COLON. 
 
 or, "To the united Kingdom of Castile-Aragon 
 Columbus gave a New World." 
 
 After the death of Columbus, it seemed as if 
 fate intended his family to enjoy the honors and 
 rewards of which he had been so unjustly de 
 prived. His son, Diego, wasted two years trying 
 to obtain from King Ferdinand the offices of vice 
 roy and admiral, which he had a right to claim in 
 accordance with the arrangement formerly made 
 with his father. At last Diego began a suit 
 against Ferdinand before the council which man 
 aged Indian affairs. That court decided in favor 
 of Diego s claim ; and as he soon greatly improved 
 his social position by marrying the niece of the 
 Duke of Alva, a high nobleman, Diego received 
 the appointment of governor (not viceroy), and 
 went to.Hayti, attended by his brother and uncles, 
 as well as his wife and a large retinue. There 
 Diego Columbus and his family lived, "with a 
 splendor hitherto unknown in the New World." 
 
48 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 II. Henry VII of England, after repenting 
 that he had not secured the services of Columbus, 
 commissioned John Cabot to sail from Bristol 
 across the Atlantic in a northwesterly direction, 
 with the hope of rinding some passage there 
 abouts to India. In June, 1497, a new coast was 
 sighted (probably Labrador or Newfoundland), 
 and named Prima Vista. They coasted the con 
 tinent southward, "ever with intent to find the 
 passage to India, 11 till they reached the peninsula 
 now called Florida. On this important voyage 
 was based the claim which the English kings 
 afterward made for the possession of all the At 
 lantic coast of North America. King Henry 
 washed colonists to settle in the new land, tarn viri 
 quam fcmincc, but since, in his usual miserly char 
 acter, he refused to give a single "testoon," or 
 "groat" toward the enterprise, no colonies were 
 formed till the days of Walter Raleigh, more than 
 a century later. 
 
 Sebastian Cabot, born in Bristol, 1477, was 
 more renowned as a navigator than his father, 
 John, and almost ranks with Columbus. After 
 discovering Labrador or Newfoundland with his 
 father, he sailed a second time with 300 men to 
 form colonies, passing apparently into Hudson 
 Bay. He wished to discover a channel leading 
 to Hindustan, but the difficulties of icebergs and 
 cold weather so frightened his crew r s that he was 
 compelled to retrace his course. In another at 
 tempt at the northwest passage to Asia, he 
 reached latitude 67^/2 north, and "gave English 
 names to sundry places in Hudson Bay." In 
 1526, when commanding a Spanish expedition 
 from Seville, he sailed to Brazil, which had al- 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN 49 
 
 ready been annexed to Portugal by Cabrera, ex 
 plored the River La Plata and ascended part of 
 the Paraguay, returning to Spain in 1531. After 
 his return to England, King Edward VI had 
 some interviews with Cabot, one topic being the 
 "variation of the compass." He received a royal 
 pension of 250 marks, and did special work in re 
 lation to trade and navigation. The great honor 
 of Cabot is that he saw the American continent 
 before Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci. 
 
 III. Of the great navigators of that unexam 
 pled age of discovery, as Spain was honored by 
 Columbus and England by Cabot, so Portugal 
 was honored by De Gama. Vasco de Gama, the 
 greatest of Portuguese navigators, left Lisbon in 
 1497 to explore the unknown world lying east of 
 the Cape of Good Hope, arriving at Calicut, May, 
 1498. Before that, Diaz had actually rounded the 
 cape, but seems to have done so merely before a 
 high gale. He named it "the stormy Cape." Ca 
 brera, or Cabral, was another great explorer sent 
 from Portugal to follow in the route of De Gama ; 
 but being forced into a southwesterly route by 
 currents in the south Atlantic, he landed on the 
 continent of America, and annexed the new coun 
 try to Portugal under the name of Brazil. Ca 
 brera afterward drew up the first commercial 
 treaty between Portugal and India. 
 
 IV. Magellan, scarcely inferior to Columbus, 
 brought honor as a navigator both to Portugal 
 and Spain. For the latter country, when in the 
 service of Charles V, he revived the idea of Co 
 lumbus that we may sail to Asia or the Spice 
 Islands by sailing west. With a squadron of five 
 ships, 236 men, he sailed, in 1519, to Brazil and 
 4 
 
50 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 convinced himself that the great estuary was not 
 a strait. Sailing south along the American coast, 
 he discovered the strait that bears his name, and 
 through it entered the Pacific, then first sailed 
 upon by Europeans, though already seen by Bal 
 boa and his men "upon a peak in Darien" as 
 Keats puts it in his famous sonnet.* From the 
 continuous fine weather enjoyed for some months, 
 Magellan naturally named the new sea "the Pa 
 cific/ After touching at the Ladrones and the 
 Philippines, Magellan was killed in a fight with 
 the inhabitants of Matan, a small island. Sebas 
 tian, his Basque lieutenant (mentioned in Chap 
 ter I) then successfully completed the circum 
 navigation of the world, sailing first to the 
 Moluccas and thence to Spain. 
 
 V. Of all the world-famous navigators con 
 temporary with Colon, the Genoese, there re 
 mains only one deserving of our notice, and that 
 because his name is for all time perpetuated in 
 that of the New World. Amerigo (Latin Ameri 
 cus) Vespucci, born at Florence, 1451, had com 
 mercial occupation in Cadiz, and was employed 
 by the Spanish Government. He has been charged 
 with a fraudulent attempt to usurp the honor due 
 to Columbus, but Humboldt and others have de 
 fended him, after a minute examination of the evi 
 dence. In a book published in 1507 by a German, 
 Waldsecmullcr, the author happens to say : 
 
 And the fourth part of the world having been discovered 
 by Americus, it may be called Amerige, that is the land of 
 Americus, or America. 
 
 * The poet, however, makes the clerical blunder of writing 
 Cortez for Balboa. 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN 51 
 
 Vespucci never called himself the discoverer 
 of the new continent ; as a mere subordinate he 
 could not think of such a thing. As a matter of 
 fact, he and Columbus were always on friendly 
 terms, attached, and trusted. Humboldt explains 
 the blunder of Waldseemiiller and others by the 
 general ignorance of the history of how America 
 was discovered, since for some years it was jeal 
 ously guarded as a "state secret." Humboldt 
 curiously adds that the "musical sound of the 
 name caught the public ear," and thus the blunder 
 has been universally perpetuated : 
 
 statque stabitque 
 
 in omne volubilis avum. 
 
 Another reason for the universal renown of 
 Amerigo was that his book was the first that told 
 of the new "Western World" ; and was therefore 
 eagerly read in all parts of Europe. 
 
 Cuba, though the largest of the West Indian 
 islands, and second to be discovered, was not 
 colonized till after the death of Columbus. Thus 
 for more than three centuries and a half, as 
 "Queen of the Antilles" and "Pearl of the An 
 tilles," Cuba has been noted as a chief colonial 
 possession of Spain, till recent events brought it 
 under the power of the United States. The con 
 quest of the island was undertaken by Velasquez, 
 who, after accompanying the great admiral in his 
 second voyage, had settled in Hispaniola (or 
 Hayti) and acquired a large fortune there. He 
 had little difficulty in the annexation of Cuba, be 
 cause the natives, like those of Hispaniola, were 
 of a peaceful character, easily imposed upon by 
 the invaders. The only difficulty Velasquez had 
 
52 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 was in the eastern part of the island, where 
 Hatuey, a cazique or native chief, who had fled 
 there from Hispaniola, made preparations to re 
 sist the Spaniards. When defeated, he was 
 cruelly condemned by Velasquez to be burned to 
 death, as a "slave who had taken arms against 
 his master." The scene at Hatuey s execution is 
 well known : 
 
 When fastened to the stake, a Franciscan friar promised 
 him immediate admittance into the joys of heaven, if he 
 would embrace the Christian faith. "Are there any Span 
 iards," says he, after some pause, "in that region of bliss 
 which you describe?" "Yes," replied the monk, "but 
 only such as are worthy and good." "The best of them 
 have neither worth nor goodness : I will not go to a place 
 where I may meet with one of that accursed race." 
 
 Being thus annexed in 1511, by the middle of 
 the century all the native Indians of Cuba had 
 become extinct. In the following century this 
 large and fertile island suffered severely by the 
 buccaneers, but during the eighteenth century it 
 prospered. During the nineteenth century, the 
 United States Government had often been urged 
 to obtain possession of it ; for example, the sum 
 of one hundred million dollars was offered in 1848 
 by President Polk. Slavery was at last abolished 
 absolutely in 1886. In recent years Spain, by 
 ceding Cuba and the Philippines to the United 
 States and the Carolines to Germany, has brought 
 her colonial history to a close. 
 
 Two other important events occurred when 
 Velasquez was Governor of Cuba : first, the es 
 cape of Balboa from Hispaniola, to become after 
 ward Governor of Darien ; and, second, the expe- 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN 53 
 
 dition under Cordova to explore that part of the 
 continent of America which lies nearest to Cuba. 
 This expedition of no men, in three small ships, 
 led to the discovery of that large peninsula now 
 known as Yucatan. Cordova imagined it to be 
 an island. The natives were not naked, like those 
 of the West Indian islands, but wore cotton 
 clothes, and some had ornaments of gold. In the 
 towns, which contained large stone houses, and 
 country generally, there were many proofs of a 
 somewhat advanced civilization. The natives, 
 however, were much more warlike than the sim 
 ple islanders of Cuba and Hispaniola; and Cor 
 dova, in fact, was glad to return from Yucatan. 
 
 Velasquez, on hearing the report of Cordova, 
 at once fitted out four vessels to explore the newly 
 discovered country, and despatched them under 
 command of his nephew, Grijalva. Everywhere 
 were found proofs of civilization, especially in 
 architecture. The whole district, in fact, abounds 
 in prehistoric remains. From a friendly chief 
 Grijalva received a sort of coat of mail covered 
 with gold plates ; and on meeting the ruler of the 
 province he exchanged some toys and. trinkets, 
 such as glass beads, pins, scissors, for a rich treas 
 ure of jewels, gold ornaments and vessels. 
 
 Grijalva was therefore the first European to 
 step on the Aztec soil and open an intercourse 
 with the natives. Velasquez, the Governor, at 
 once prepared a larger expedition, choosing as 
 leader or commander an officer who was destined 
 henceforth to fill a much larger place in history 
 than himself, one who presently appeared capable 
 of becoming a general in the foremost rank, Her- 
 nando Cortes, greatest of all Spanish explorers. 
 
54 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 THE EXTINCT CIVILIZATION OF THE AZTECS 
 
 IN the Extinct Civilizations of the East it was 
 shown that the cosmogony of the Chaldeans 
 closely resembles that of the Hebrews and the 
 Phenicians, and that the account of the deluge in 
 Genesis exactly reproduces the much earlier one 
 found on one of the Babylonian tablets. 
 
 Traces of a deluge legend also existed among 
 the early Aztecs. They believed 
 
 that two persons survived the Deluge, a man named Koksoz 
 and his wife. Their heads are represented in ancient paint 
 ings together with a boat floating on the waters at the foot 
 of a mountain. A dove is also depicted, with a hieroglyph- 
 ical emblem of languages in his mouth. . . . Tezpi, the 
 Noah of a neighboring people, also escaped in a boat, 
 which was filled with various kinds of animals and birds. 
 After some time a vulture was sent out from it, but re 
 mained feeding on the dead bodies of the giants, which had 
 been left on the earth as the waters subsided. The little 
 humming-bird was then sent forth and returned with the 
 branch of a tree in its mouth. 
 
 Another Aztec tradition of the deluge is that 
 the pyramidal mound, the temple of Cholula (a 
 sacred city on the way between the capital and 
 the seaport), was built by the giants to escape 
 drowning. Like the tower of Babel, it was in 
 tended to reach the clouds, till the gods looked 
 down and, by destroying the pyramid by fires 
 froni heaven, compelled the builders to abandon 
 the attempt. 
 
CIVILIZATION OF THE AZTECS 55 
 
 The hieroglyphics used in the Aztec calendar 
 correspond curiously with the zodiacal signs of 
 the Mongols of eastern Asia. "The symbols in 
 the Mongolian calendar are borrowed from ani 
 mals, and four of the twelve are the same as the 
 Aztec." 
 
 The antiquity of most of the monuments is 
 proved e. g., by the growth of trees in the midst 
 of the buildings in Yucatan. Many have had 
 time to attain a diameter of from six to nine feet. 
 In a courtyard at Uxmal, the figures of tortoises 
 sculptured in relief upon the granite pavement 
 are so worn away by the feet of countless genera 
 tions of the natives that the design of the artist is 
 scarcely recognizable. 
 
 The Spanish invaders demolished every vestige 
 of the Aztec religious monuments, just as Roman 
 Catholic images and paraphernalia were once 
 treated by the "straitest sects" of Protestants, or 
 even Mohammedans. 
 
 The beautiful plateau around the lakes of 
 Mexico, as well as other central portions of 
 America, were without any doubt occupied from 
 the earliest ages by peoples who gradually ad 
 vanced in civilization from generation to genera 
 tion and passed through cycles of revolutions 
 in one century relapsing, in another advancing by 
 leaps and bounds by an infusion of new blood or 
 a change of environment exactly similar to the 
 checkered annals of the successive dynasties in 
 the Nile Valley and the plains of Babylonia. In 
 the New World, as in the Old World, from pre 
 historic times wealth was accumulated at such 
 centers, bringing additional comfort and refine 
 ment, and implying the practise of the useful arts 
 
56 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 and some applications of science. As to tlie 
 legendary migrations or even those extinct races 
 whose names still remain, Max Miiller said : * 
 
 The traditions are no better than the Greek traditions 
 about Pelasgians, /Eolians, and lonians, and it would be a 
 mere waste of time to construct out of such elements a sys 
 tematic history, only to be destroyed again sooner or later, 
 by some Niebuhr, Grote, or Lewis. 
 
 Anahuac (i. e., "waterside" or "the lake-coun 
 try"), in the early centuries of our era, was a 
 name of the country round the lakes and town 
 afterward called Mexico. To this center, as a 
 place for settlement, there came from the north 
 or northwest a succession of tribes more or less 
 allied in race and language especially (according 
 to one theory) the Toltecs from Tula, and the 
 Aztecs from Aztlan. Tula, north of the Mexican 
 Valley, had been the first capital of the Toltecs, 
 and at the time of the Spanish conquest there 
 were remains of large buildings there. Most of 
 the extensive temples and other edifices found 
 throughout "New Spain" were attributed to this 
 race and the word "toltek" became synonymous 
 with "architect." 
 
 Some five centuries after the Toltecs had aban 
 doned Tula, the Aztecs or early Mexicans arrived 
 to settle in the Valley of Anahuac. With the 
 Aztecs came the Tezcucans, whose capital, Tez- 
 cuco, on the eastern border of the Mexican lake, 
 has given it its still surviving name. 
 
 The Aztecs, again, after long migrations from 
 place to place, finally, in A. D. 1325, halted on the 
 
 * Chips from a German Workshop, i, 327. 
 
CIVILIZATION OF THE AZTECS 57 
 
 southwestern shores of the great lake. Accord 
 ing to tradition, a heavenly vision thus announced 
 the site of their future capital : 
 
 They beheld perched on the stem of a prickly-pear, 
 which shot out from the crevice of a rock washed by the 
 waves, a royal eagle of extraordinary size and beauty, with 
 a serpent in its talons, and its broad wings opened to the 
 rising sun. They hailed the auspicious omen, announced 
 by an oracle as indicating the sight of their future city, and 
 laid its foundations by sinking piles into the shallows ; for 
 the low marshes were half buried under water. . . . The 
 place was called Tenochtitlan (i. e. "the cactus on a rock") 
 in token of its miraculous origin. [Such were the humble 
 beginnings of the Venice of the Western World.] * 
 
 To this day the arms of the Mexican republic 
 show the device of the eagle and the cactus to 
 commemorate the legend of the foundation of the 
 capital afterward called Mexico from the name 
 of their war-god. Fiercer and more warlike than 
 their brethren of Tezcuco, the men of the latter 
 town were glad of their assistance, when invaded 
 and defeated by a hostile tribe. Thus Mexico 
 and Tezcuco became close allies, and by the time 
 of Montezuma I, in the middle of the fifteenth 
 century, their sovereignty had extended beyond 
 their native plateau to the coast country along the 
 Gulf of Mexico. The capital rapidly increased in 
 population, the original houses being replaced by 
 substantial stone buildings. There are documents 
 showing that Tenochtitlan was of much larger 
 dimensions than the modern capital of Mexico, on 
 the same site. Just before the arrival of the Span 
 iards, at the beginning- of the sixteenth century, 
 
 * Prescott, i, I, pp. 8, 9. 
 
5 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 the kingdom extended from the gulf across to the 
 Pacific ; and southward under the ruthless Ahuit- 
 zotl over the whole of Guatemala and Nicaragua. 
 
 The Aztecs resembled the ancient Peruvians in 
 very few respects, one being the use of knots on 
 strings of different colors to record events and 
 numbers. Compare our account of "the quipu" 
 in Chapter X. The Aztecs seem to have replaced 
 that rude method of making memoranda during 
 the seventh century by picture-writing. Before 
 the Spanish invasion, thousands of native clerks 
 or chroniclers were employed in painting on veg 
 etable paper and canvas. Examples of such man 
 uscripts may still be seen in all the great museums. 
 Their contents chiefly refer to ritual, astrology, 
 the calendar, annals of the kings, etc. 
 
 Most of the literary productions of the ancient 
 Mexicans were stupidly destroyed by the Spanish 
 under Cortes. The first Archbishop of Mexico 
 founded a professorship in 1553 for expounding 
 the hieroglyphs of the Aztecs, but in the follow 
 ing century the study was abandoned. Even the 
 native-born scholars confessed that they were un 
 able to decipher the ancient writing. One of the 
 most ancient books (assigned to Tula, the "Tol- 
 tec" capital, A. D. 660, and written by Huetmatzin, 
 an astrologer), describes the heavens and the 
 earth, the stars in their constellations, the ar 
 rangement of time in the official calendar, with 
 some geography, mythology, and cosmogony. In 
 the fifteenth century the King of Tezcuco pub 
 lished sixty hymns in honor of the Supreme Be 
 ing, with an elegy on the destruction of a town, 
 and another on the instability of human greatness. 
 
 In the same century the three Anahuac states 
 
CIVILIZATION OF THE AZTECS 59 
 
 (Acolhua, Mexico, and Tlacopan) formed a con 
 federacy with a constant tendency to give Mexico 
 the supremacy. The two capitals looking at each 
 other across the lake were steadily growing in 
 importance, with all the adjuncts of public works 
 causeways, canals, aqueducts, temples, palaces, 
 gardens, and other evidences of wealth. 
 
 The horror and disgust caused by the Aztec 
 sacrificial bloodshed are greatly increased by con 
 sidering the number of the victims. The kings 
 actually made war in order to provide as many 
 victims as possible for the public sacrifices 
 especially on such an occasion as a coronation 
 or the consecration of a new temple. Captives 
 were sometimes reserved a considerable time for 
 the purpose of immolation. It was the regular 
 method of the Aztec warrior in battle not to kill ^ 
 one s opponent if he could be made a captive ; to 
 take him alive was a meritorious act in religion. 
 In fact, the Spaniards in this way frequently es 
 caped death at the hands of their Mexican oppo 
 nents. When King Montezuma w^as asked by a 
 European general why he had permitted the re 
 public of Tlascala to remain independent on the 
 borders of his kingdom, his reply was, "That she / 
 might furnish me with victims for my gods." 
 
 In reckoning the number of victims Prescott 
 seems to have trusted too implicitly to the almost 
 incredible accounts of the Spanish. Zumurraga, 
 the first Bishop of Mexico, asserts that 20,000 
 were sacrificed annually, but Casas points out 
 that with such a "waste of the human species/ as 
 is implied in some histories, the country could not 
 have been so populous as Cortes found it. The es 
 timate of Casas is "that the Mexicans never sacri- 
 
60 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 ficed more than fifty or a hundred persons in a 
 year." 
 
 Notwithstanding the wholesale bloodshed be 
 fore the shrines of their gory gods, we can still 
 assign to the Aztecs a high degree of civilization. 
 The history of even modern Europe will illustrate 
 this statement, although apparently paradoxical. 
 
 Consider "the condition of some of the most 
 polished countries in the sixteenth century after 
 the establishment of the modern Inquisition an 
 institution which yearly destroyed its thousands 
 by a death more painful than the Aztec sacrifices, 
 . . . which did more to stay the march of im 
 provement than any other scheme ever devised by 
 human cunning. . . . Human sacrifice was some 
 times voluntarily embraced by the Aztecs as the 
 most glorious death, and one that opened a sure 
 passage into paradise. The Inquisition, on the 
 other hand, branded its victims with infamy in 
 this world, and consigned them to everlasting 
 perdition in the next." 
 
 The difficulty with the Aztecs is how to recon 
 cile such refinement as their extinct civilization 
 showed with their savage enjoyment of bloodshed. 
 "No captive was ever ransomed or spared; all 
 were sacrificed without mercy, and their flesh de 
 voured." The first of the four chief counselors of 
 the empire was called the "Prince of the Deadly 
 Lance," the second "Divider of Men," the third 
 "Shedder of Blood," the fourth "the Lord of the 
 Dark House." 
 
 The temples were very numerous, generally 
 merely pyramidal masses of clay faced with brick 
 or stone. The roof \vas a broad area on which 
 stood one or two towers, from forty to fifty feet in 
 
CIVILIZATION OF THE AZTECS 6 1 
 
 height, forming the sanctuaries of the presiding 
 deities, and therefore containing their images. 
 " Before these sanctuaries stood the dreadful stone 
 of sacrifice. There were also two altars with 
 sacred fires kept ever burning. 
 
 All the religious services were public, and the 
 pyramidal temples, with stairs round their mas 
 sive sides, allowed the long procession of priests 
 to be visible as they ceremoniously ascended to 
 perform the dread office of slaughtering the hu 
 man victims. 
 
 Human sacrifices had not originally been a 
 feature of the Aztec worship. But about 200 
 years before the arrival of the Spanish invaders 
 was the beginning of this religious atrocity, and 
 at last no public festival was considered complete 
 without some human bloodshed. 
 
 Prescott takes as an example the great festival 
 in honor of Tezcatlipoca, a handsome god of the 
 second rank, called "the soul of the world/ and 
 endowed with perpetual youth. 
 
 A year before the intended sacrifice, a captive, dis 
 tinguished for his personal beauty and without a blemish 
 on his body, was selected. . . . Tutors took charge of him 
 and instructed him how to perform his new part with be 
 coming grace and dignity. He was arrayed in a splendid 
 dress, regaled with incense and with a profusion of sweet- 
 scented flowers. . . . When he went abroad he was at 
 tended by a train of the royal pages, and as he halted in the 
 streets to play some favorite melody, the crowd prostrated 
 themselves before him, and did him homage as the repre 
 sentative of their good deity. . . . Four beautiful girls, 
 bearing the names of the principal goddesses, were se 
 lected, and with them he continued to live idly, feasted at 
 the banquets of the principal nobles, who paid him all the 
 
62 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 honors of a divinity. When at length the fatal day of 
 sacrifice arrived, . . . stripped of his gaudy apparel, one 
 of the royal barges transported him across a lake to a tem 
 ple which rose on its margin. . . . Hither the inhabitants 
 of the capital flocked to witness the consummation of the 
 ceremony. As the sad procession wound up the sides of 
 the pyramid, the unhappy victim threw away his gay chap- 
 lets of flowers and broke in pieces his musical instruments. 
 . . . On the summit he was received by six priests, whose 
 long and matted locks flowed in disorder over their sable 
 robes, covered with hierolgyphic scrolls of mystic import. 
 They led him to the sacrificial stone, a huge block of jasper, 
 with its upper surface somewhat convex. On this the vic 
 tim was stretched. Five priests secured his head and 
 limbs, while the sixth, clad in a scarlet mantle, emblematic 
 of his bloody office, dexterously opened the breast of the 
 wretched victim with a sharp razor of itzli, and inserting 
 his hand in the wound, tore out the palpitating heart, and 
 after holding it up to the sun (as representing the supreme 
 God), cast it at the feet of the deity to whom the temple 
 was devoted, while the multitudes below prostrated them 
 selves in humble adoration. 
 
 Such was an instance of the human sacrifices 
 for which ancient Mexico became infamous to 
 the whole civilized world. 
 
 One instance of a sacrifice differing from the 
 ordinary sort is thus given by a Spanish historian : 
 
 A captive of distinction was sometimes furnished with 
 arms for single combat against a number of Mexicans in 
 succession. If he defeated them all, as did occasionally 
 happen, he was allowed to escape. If vanquished he was 
 dragged to the block and sacrificed in the usual manner. 
 The combat was fought on a huge circular stone before 
 the population of the capital. 
 
 Women captives were occasionally sacrificed 
 before those bloodthirsty gods, and in a season of 
 
CIVILIZATION OF THE AZTECS 63 
 
 drought even children were sometimes slaugh 
 tered to propitiate Tlaloc, the god of rain. 
 
 Borne along in open litters, dressed in their festal robes 
 and decked with the fresh blossoms of spring, they moved 
 the hardest hearts to pity, though their cries were drowned 
 in the wild chant of the priests who read in their tears a 
 favorable augury for the rain prayer. 
 
 One Spanish historian informs us that these 
 innocent victims of this repulsive religion were 
 generally bought by the priests from parents who 
 were poor. 
 
 We may now resume the traditional setttlement 
 of the ancient Mexicans on the region called Ana- 
 huac, including all the fertile plateau and extend 
 ing south to the lake of Nicaragua. The chief 
 tribes of the race were said to have come from 
 California, and after being subject to the Colhua 
 people asserted their independence about A. D. 
 1325. Soon afterward, their first capital, Tenoch- 
 titlan, was built on the site of Mexico, their per 
 manent center. For several generations they 
 lived, like their remote ancestors, the Red Men of 
 the Woods, as hunters, fishers, and trappers, but 
 at last their prince or chief cazique was powerful 
 enough to be called king. The rule of this Aztec 
 prince, beginning A. D. 1440, marked the begin 
 ning of their greatness as a race. It became a 
 rule of their kingdom that every new king must 
 gain a victory before being crowned ; and thus by 
 the conquest of a new nation furnish a supply of 
 captives to gratify their tutelary deity by the nec 
 essary human sacrifices. In 1502 the younger 
 Montezuma ascended the throne. He is better 
 
64 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 known to us than the previous kings, because it 
 was in his reign that the Spanish conquerors ap 
 peared on the scene. From the time of Cortes 
 the history of the Aztecs becomes part of that of 
 the Mexicans. They were easily conquered by 
 the European troops, partly because of their be 
 trayal by various of the neighboring nations 
 whom they had formerly conquered. At the be 
 ginning of the sixteenth century, according to 
 Prescott, the Aztec king ruled the continent from 
 the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
 
 From the scientific side of their extinct civiliza 
 tion it is their knowledge of astronomy that 
 chiefly causes astonishment (see also p. 85). As 
 in the case of the Chaldeans and Babylonians, a 
 motive for the study of the stars and planets was 
 the priestly one of accurately fixing the religious 
 festivals. The tropical year being thus ascer 
 tained, their tables showed the exact time of the 
 equinox or sun s transit across the equatorial, and 
 of the solstice. From a very early period they 
 had practised agriculture, growing Indian corn 
 and "Mexican aloe." Having no animals of draft, 
 such as the horse, or ox, their farming was natu 
 rally of a rude and imperfect sort. 
 
 "The degree of civilization," says Prescott, 
 "which the Aztecs reached, as inferred by their 
 political institutions, may be considered, perhaps, 
 not much short of that enjoyed by our Saxon 
 ancestors under Alfred." 
 
 In a passage comparing the Aztecs to the 
 American Indians, we read : 
 
 The latter has something peculiarly sensitive in his 
 nature. He shrinks instinctively from the rude touch 
 
CIVILIZATION OF THE AZTECS 65 
 
 of a foreign hand. Even when this foreign influence 
 comes in the form of civilization he seems to sink and pine 
 away beneath it. It has been so with the Mexicans. Un 
 der the Spanish domination their numbers have silently 
 melted away. Their energies are broken. They no longer 
 tread their mountain plains with the conscious independ 
 ence of their ancestors. In their faltering step and meek 
 and melancholy aspect we read the sad characters of the 
 conquered race. . . . Their civilization was of the hardy 
 character which belongs to the wilderness. The fierce 
 virtues of the Aztec were all his own. 
 
 Humboldt found some analogy between the 
 Aztec theory of the universe, as taught by the 
 priests, and the Asiatic "cosmogonies." The Az 
 tecs, in explaining the great mystery of man s 
 existence after death, believed that future time 
 would revolve in great periods or cycles, each em 
 bracing thousands of years. At the end of each 
 of the four cycles of future time in the present 
 world, "the human family will be swept from the 
 earth by the agency of one of the elements, and 
 the sun blotted out from the heavens to be again 
 rekindled." 
 
 The priesthood comprised a large number who 
 were skilled in astrology and divination. The 
 great temple of Mexico, alone, had 5,000 priests 
 in attendance, of whom the chief dignitaries su 
 perintended the dreadful rites of human sacrifice. 
 Others had management of the singing choirs 
 with their musical accompaniment of drums and 
 other instruments; others arranged the public 
 festivals according to the calendar, and had 
 charge of the hieroglyphical word-painting and 
 oral traditions. One important section of the 
 priesthood were teachers, responsible for the edu- 
 5 
 
66 EXTINCT* CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 cation of the children and instruction in religion 
 and morality. The head management of the hier 
 archy or whole ecclesiastical system, was under 
 two high priests the more dignified that they 
 were chosen by the king and principal nobles 
 without reference to birth or social station. These 
 high priests were consulted on any national emer 
 gency, and in precedency of rank were superior 
 to every man except the king. Montezuma is said 
 to have been a priest. 
 
 The priestly power was more absolute than 
 any ever experienced in Europe. Two remark 
 able peculiarities were that when a sinner was 
 pardoned by a priest, the certificate afterward 
 saved the culprit from being legally punished for 
 any offense ; secondly, there could be no pardon 
 for an offense once atoned for if the offense were 
 repeated. "Long after the conquest, the simple 
 natives when they came under the arm of the law, 
 sought to escape by producing the certificate of 
 their former confession." (Prescott, i, 33.) 
 
 The prayer of the priest-confessor, as reported 
 by a Spanish historian, is very remarkable : 
 
 " O, merciful Lord, thou who knowest the secrets of all 
 hearts, let thy forgiveness and favor descend, like the pure 
 waters of heaven, to wash away the stains from the soul. 
 Thou knowest that this poor man has sinned, not from his 
 own jree will, but from the influence of the sign under 
 which he was born. . . . 
 
 After enjoining on the penitent a variety of minute cere 
 monies by way of penance, the confessor urges the neces 
 sity of instantly procuring a slave for sacrifice to the Deity. 
 
 In the schools under the clergy the boys* were 
 taught by priests and the girls by priestesses. 
 
OF THE AZTECS 67 
 
 There was a higher school for instruction in tradi 
 tion and history, the mysteries of hieroglyphs, the 
 principles of government, and certain branches of 
 astronomical and natural science. 
 
 In the education of their children the Mexican 
 community were very strict, but from a letter pre 
 served by one of the Spanish historians, we can 
 not doubt the womanly affection of a mother 
 who thus wrote to her daughter : 
 
 My beloved . daughter, very dear little dove, you have 
 already heard and attended to the words which your father 
 has told you. They are precious words, which have pro 
 ceeded from tfte bowels and heart in which they were treas 
 ured up ; and your beloved father well knows that you, his 
 daughter, begotten of him, are his blood and his flesh ; and 
 God our Lord knows that it is so. Although you are a 
 woman, and are the image of your father, what more can 
 I say to you than has already been said? . . . My dear 
 daughter, whom I tenderly love, see that you live in the 
 world in peace, tranquillity, and contentment see that you 
 disgrace not yourself, that you slain not your honor, nor 
 pollute the luster and fame of your ancestors. . . . May 
 God prosper you, my first-born, and may you come to 
 God, who is in every place.* 
 
 Some trace of a "natural piety," which will 
 probably surprise our readers, is also found in 
 the ceremony of Aztec baptism, as described by 
 the same writer. After the head and lips of the 
 infant were touched with water and a name given 
 to it, the goddess Cioacoatl was implored "that 
 the sin which was given to us before the begin 
 ning of the world might not visit the child, but 
 
 * Sahagun, Hist, de Nueva Espana, vi, 19. 
 
68 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 that, cleansed by these waters, it might live and 
 be born anew." In Sahagun s account we read : 
 
 When all the relations of the child were assembled, the 
 midwife, who was the person that performed the rite of 
 baptism, was summoned. When the sun had risen, the 
 midwife, taking the child in her arms, called for a little 
 earthen vessel of water. ... To perform the rite, she 
 placed herself with her face toward the west, and began to 
 go through certain ceremonies. . . . After this she sprin 
 kled water on the head of the infant, saying, "O my child! 
 receive the water of the Lord of the world, which is our life, 
 and is given for the increasing and renewing of our body. 
 It is to wash and to purify." . . . [After a piayer] she 
 took the child in both hands, and lifting him toward 
 heaven said, "O Lord, thou seest here thy creature whom 
 thou hast sent into this world, this place of sorrow, suffer 
 ing, and penitence. Grant him, O Lord, thy gifts and 
 thine inspiration." 
 
 The science of the Aztecs has excited the 
 wonder of all competent judges, such as Hum- 
 boldt (already quoted) and the astronomer La 
 Place. Lord Kingsborough remarks in his great 
 work : 
 
 It can hardly be doubted that the Mexicans were ac 
 quainted with many scientifical instruments of strange in 
 vention; . . . whether the telescope may not have been 
 of the number is uncertain; but the thirteenth plate of M. 
 Dupaix s Monuments, which represents a man holding 
 something of a similar nature to his eye, affords reason to 
 suppose that they knew how to improve the powers of 
 vision. 
 
 References to the calendar of the Aztecs should 
 not omit the secular festival occurring at the end 
 of their great cycle of fifty-two years. From the 
 
CIVILIZATION OF THE AZTECS 69 
 
 length of the period, two generations, one might 
 compare it with the "jubilee" of ancient Israel 
 a word made familiar toward the close of Queen 
 Victoria s reign. The great event always took 
 place at midwinter, the most dreary period of the 
 year, and when the five intercalary days arrived 
 they "abandoned themselves to despair." breaking 
 up the images of the gods, allowing the holy fires 
 of the temples to go out, lighting none in their 
 homes, destroying their furniture and domestic 
 utensils, and tearing their clothes to rags. This 
 disorder and gloom signified that figuratively the 
 end of the world was at hand. 
 
 On the evening of the last day, a procession of priests, 
 assuming the dress and ornaments of their gods, moved 
 from the capital toward a lofty mountain, about two 
 leagues distant. They carried with them a noble victim, 
 the flower of their captives, and an apparatus for kindling 
 the new fire, the success of which was an augury of the re 
 newal of the cycle. On the summit of the mountain, the 
 procession paused till midnight, when, as the constellation 
 of the Pleiades* approached the zenith, the new fire was 
 kindled by the friction of some sticks placed on the breast 
 of the victim. The flame was soon communicated to a 
 funeral-pyre on which the body of the slaughtered captive 
 was thrown. As the light streamed up toward heaven, 
 shouts of joy and triumph burst forth from the countless 
 multitudes who covered the hills, the terraces of the tem 
 ples, and the housetops. . . . Couriers, with torches 
 lighted at the blazing beacon, rapidly bore them over every 
 part of the country. ... A new cycle had commenced its 
 march. 
 
 * A famous group of seven small stars in the Bull constella 
 tion. The " seven sisters " appear as only six to ordinary 
 eyesight : to make out the seventh is a test of a practised eye 
 and excellent vision. 
 
70 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 The following thirteen days were given up to festivity. 
 . . . The people, dressed in their gayest apparel, and 
 crowned with garlands and chaplets of flowers, thronged 
 in joyous procession to offer up their oblations and thanks 
 givings in the temples. Dances and games were instituted 
 emblematical of the regeneration of the world. 
 
 Prescott compares this carnival of the Aztecs 
 to the great secular festival of the Romans or 
 ancient Etruscans, which (as Suetonius re 
 marked) "few alive had witnessed before, or 
 could expect to witness again." The ludi scccu- 
 larcs or secular games of Rome were held only 
 at very long intervals and lasted for three days 
 and nights. 
 
 The poet Southey thus refers to the ceremony 
 of opening the new Aztec cycle, or Circle of the 
 Years. 
 
 On his bare breast the cedar boughs are laid, 
 On his bare breast, dry sedge and odorous gums, 
 Laid ready to receive the sacred spark, 
 And blaze, to herald the ascending sun, 
 Upon his living altar. Round the wretch 
 The inhuman ministers of rites accurst 
 Stand, and expect trie signal when to strike 
 The seed of fire. Their Chief, apart from all, 
 
 . . . eastward turns his eyes; 
 For now the hour draws nigh, and speedily 
 He looks to see the first faint dawn of day 
 Break through the orient sky. 
 
 Madoc, ii, 26. 
 
AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY Ji 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY 
 
 LONG before the time of Columbus and the 
 Spanish conquest there existed on the table-land 
 of Mexico two great races or nations, as has al 
 ready been shown, both highly civilized, and both 
 akin in language, art, and religion. Ethnologists 
 and antiquaries are not agreed as to their origin 
 or the development of their civilization. Many 
 recent critics have held the theory that there had 
 been a previous people from whom both races 
 inherited their extinct civilization, this previous 
 race being the "Toltecs," whom we have repeat 
 edly mentioned in the preceding chapter. To that 
 previous race some attribute the colossal stone 
 work around Lake Titicaca, as well as other sur 
 vivals of long-forgotten culture. Some would 
 even class them with the "mound-builders" of 
 the Ohio Valley. Other recent antiquaries, how 
 ever, while fully admitting the Aztec-Tescucan 
 civilization to be real and historical, treat the Tol- 
 tec theory as partly or entirely mythical. One 
 writer alleges, after the manner of Max Miiller, 
 that the Toltecs are "simply a personification of 
 the rays of light" radiating from the Aztec sun- 
 god. 
 
 Leaving abstract theories, we shall devote this 
 chapter to the principal facts of American 
 archeology especially as regards the races and 
 the monuments of their long extinct civilizations. 
 Throughout many parts of both North and South 
 
72 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 America, and over large areas, the red-skinned 
 natives continued their generations as their ances 
 tors had done through untold centuries, scarcely 
 rising above the state of rude, uncultured sons of 
 the soil living as hunters, trappers, fishers, as had 
 been done immemorially 
 
 When wild in woods the noble savage ran, 
 
 as Dryden puts it. But in Mexico, Yucatan, and 
 Central America, Colombia, and Peru there were 
 men of the original redskin race who had dis 
 tinctly attained to civilization for unknown gen 
 erations before the time of Columbus. Not only 
 so, but in many centers of wealth and population 
 the process of social improvement and advance 
 had been continuous for unrecorded ages ; and in 
 certain cases a long extinct civilization had over 
 laid a previous civilization still more remotely 
 extinct. Some works constructed for supplying 
 water, for example, could only have been applied 
 to that purpose when the climate or geological 
 conditions were quite different from what they 
 have always been in historical times ! 
 
 Who is the red man? Compared in numbers 
 with the yellow man, the white man, or even the 
 black, he is very unimportant, being only one- 
 tenth as great as the African race.* In American 
 ethnology, however, the red man is all-important. 
 Primeval men of this race undoubtedly formed 
 the original stock whence during the centuries 
 were derived all the numerous tribes of "Indians" 
 
 * White or Caucasian 640,000,000, yellow or Mongolian 
 600,000,000, black or African 200,000,000, red or American 
 20,000,000. 
 
AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY 73 
 
 found in either North or South America. 
 Throughout Asia and Africa there is great diver 
 sity in type among the races that are indigenous ; 
 but as to America, to quote Humboldt : 
 
 The Indians of New Spain [i. e., Mexico] bear a general 
 resemblance to those who inhabit Canada, Florida, Peru, 
 and Brazil. We have the same swarthy and copper color, 
 straight and smooth hair, small beard, squat body, long 
 eye, with the corner directed upward toward the temples, 
 prominent cheek-bones, thick lips, and expression of gentle 
 ness in the mouth, strongly contrasted with a gloomy and 
 severe look. 
 
 Whence the original red men of America were 
 derived it is impossible to say. The date is too 
 remote and the data too few. From fossil re 
 mains of human bones, Agassiz estimated a period 
 of at least ten thousand years ; and near New Or 
 leans, beneath four buried forests, a skeleton was 
 found which was possibly fifty thousand years old. 
 If, therefore, the redskins branched off from the 
 yellow man, it must have been at a period which 
 lies utterly beyond historic ken or calculation. 
 
 Some recent ethnologists have borrowed the 
 "glacier theory" from the science of geology, in 
 order to trace the development of civilization 
 among certain races. In Switzerland and Green 
 land the signs of the action of a glacier can be 
 traced and recognized just as we trace the proofs 
 of the action of water in a dry channel. Visit the 
 front of a glacier in autumn after the summer heat 
 has made it shrink back, you will see ( i ) rounded 
 rocks, as if planed on the top, with (2) a mixed 
 mass of stones and gravel like a rubbish-heap, 
 
74 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 scattered on (3) a mass of clay and sand, con 
 taining boulders. The same three tests are fre 
 quently found in countries where there have been 
 no glaciers within the memory of man. 
 
 Such traces, found not only in England, Scot 
 land, and Ireland, but in northern Germany and 
 Denmark, prove that the mountain mass of Scan 
 dinavia was the nucleus of a huge ice-cap "radia 
 ting to a distance of not less than 1,000 miles, and 
 thick enough to block up with solid ice the North 
 Sea, the German Ocean, the Baltic, and even the 
 Atlantic up to the 100- fathom line." In North 
 America the same thing is proved by similar evi 
 dence. A gigantic ice-cap extending from Can 
 ada has glaciated all the minor mountain ranges 
 to the south, sweeping over the whole continent. 
 The drift and boulders still remain to prove the 
 fact, as far south as only 15 north of the tropic. 
 A warm oceanic current, like the Gulf Stream of 
 the Atlantic, would shorten a glacial period. 
 Speaking of Scotland, one authority states that 
 "if the Gulf Stream were diverted and the High 
 lands upheaved to the height of the New Zealand 
 Alps, the whole country would again be buried 
 under glaciers pushing out into the seas" on the 
 \vest and east. 
 
 The theory is that as the climate became 
 warmer, the ice-fronts retreated northward by the 
 shrinking of the glaciers, and therefore the ani 
 mals, including man, were able to live farther 
 north. The men of that very remote period were 
 "Neolithic," and some of the stone monuments 
 are attributed to them that were formerly called 
 "Druidic." A recent writer asks, with reference 
 to Stonehenge : 
 
AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY 75 
 
 Did Neolithic men slowly coming northward, as the 
 rigors of the last glacial period abated, domicile here, and 
 build this huge gaunt temple before they passed farther 
 north, to degrade and dwindle down into Eskimos wander 
 ing the dismal coasts of arctic seas? 
 
 Another writer, with reference to the American 
 ice-sheet, says : 
 
 During the second glacial epoch when the great boreal 
 ice-sheet covered one-half of the North American conti 
 nent, reaching as far south as the present cities of Phila 
 delphia and St. Louis, and the glaciated portions were as 
 unfit for human occupation as the snow-cap of Greenland 
 is to-day, aggregations of population clustered around the 
 equatorial zone, because the climatic conditions were con 
 genial. And inasmuch as civilization, the world over, 
 clings to the temperate climates and thrives there best, we 
 are not surprised to learn that communities far advanced 
 in arts and architecture built and occupied those great 
 cities in Yucatan, Honduras, Guatemala, and other Cen 
 tral American states, whose populations once numbered 
 hundreds of thousands. 
 
 An approximate date when this civilization was at the 
 
 acme of its glory would be about ten thousand years ago. 
 
 This is established by observations upon the recession of 
 
 the existing glacier fronts, which are known to drop back 
 
 twelve miles in one hundred years. 
 
 With the gradual withdrawal of the glacial ice-sheet the 
 climate grew proportionately milder, and flora and fauna 
 moved simultaneously northward. Some emigrants went 
 to South America and settled there, carrying their customs, 
 arts, ceremonial rites, hieroglyphs, architecture, etc.; and 
 an immense exodus took place into Mexico, which ulti 
 mately extended westward up the Pacific coast. 
 
 In subsequent epochs when the ice-sheet had withdrawn 
 from large areas, there were immense influxes of people 
 from Asia via Bering Strait on the Pacific side, and from 
 northwestern Europe via Greenland on the Atlantic side. 
 
76 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 The Korean immigration of the year 544 led to the founding 
 of the Mexican Empire in 1325. 
 
 To trace then the gradations of ascent from 
 the native American called "Indians" by a 
 blunder of the Great Admiral, as afterward they 
 were nicknamed redskins" by the English set 
 tlers to the Mexicans, Peruvians, or Colombians 
 is a task far beyond our strength. Leaving the 
 question of race, therefore, we now turn to the 
 antiquarian remains, especially the architectural. 
 
 The prehistoric civilization which was devel 
 oped to the south of Mexico is generally known as 
 "Mayan," although the Mayas were undoubtedly 
 akin to the Aztecs or early Mexicans. The 
 Maya tribes in Yucatan and Honduras, from 
 abundant evidence, must have risen to a refine 
 ment in prehistoric times, which, in several re 
 spects, was superior to that of the Aztecs. In 
 architecture they were in advance from the earliest 
 ages not only of the Aztec peoples, but of all the 
 American races. 
 
 In Yucatan the Mayas have left some wonder 
 ful remains at Mayapan, their prehistoric capital, 
 and near it at a place called Uxmal which has 
 become famous from its vast and elaborate struc 
 tures,* evidencing a knowledge of art and science 
 which had flourished in this region for centuries 
 before the arrival of the Spanish. The chief 
 building in Uxmal is in pyramidal form, the prin 
 cipal design in the ancient Aztec temples (as well 
 as those of Chaldea, etc.), consisting of three ter 
 races faced with hewn stone. The terraces are 
 in length 575, 545, and 360 feet respectively ; with 
 * See Frontispiece. 
 
AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY 77 
 
 the temple on the summit, 322 feet, and a great 
 flight of stairs leading to it. The whole building 
 is surrounded by a belt of richly sculptured 
 figures, above a cornice. At Chichen, also in 
 Yucatan, there is an area of two miles perimeter 
 entirely covered with architectural ruins; many 
 of the roofs having apparently consisted of stone 
 arches, painted in various colors. One building, 
 of peculiar construction, proves an enigma to all 
 travelers: it is more than ninety yards long and 
 consists of two parallel walls, each ten yards 
 thick, the distance between them being also ten 
 yards. It has been conjectured that the anoma 
 lous construction had reference to some public 
 games by which the citizens amused themselves in 
 that long-forgotten period. Among other me 
 morials of Mayan architecture in this country is 
 the city of Tuloom on the east coast, fortified 
 with strong walls and square towers. A more 
 remarkable "find" in the dense forests of Chiapas, 
 in the same country, is the city recorded by Ste 
 phens and other travelers. It is near the coast, 
 at the place where Cortes and his Spanish sol 
 diers were moving about for a considerable time, 
 yet they do not appear to have ever seen the splen 
 did ruins, or to have at all suspected their ex 
 istence. Even if the natives knew, the Spaniards 
 might have found the toil of forcing a passage 
 through such forests too laborious. The name of 
 the city which had so long been buried under the 
 tropical vegetation was quite unknown, nor was 
 there any tradition of it ; but when found it was 
 called "Palenque," from the nearest inhabited 
 village. There were substantial and handsome 
 buildings with excellent masonry, and in many 
 
/8 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 cases beautiful sculptures and hieroglyphical 
 figures. 
 
 Merida, the capital of Yucatan, is on the site 
 of a prehistoric city whose name had also become 
 unknown. When building the present town, the 
 Spaniards utilized the ancient buildings as quar 
 ries for good stones. 
 
 The larger prehistoric structures are frequently 
 on artificial mounds, being probably intended for 
 religious or ceremonial purposes. The \valls both 
 within and without are elaborately decorated, 
 sometimes with symbolic figures. Sometimes 
 officials in ceremonial costumes are seen appar 
 ently performing religious rites. These are often 
 accompanied by inscriptions in low relief, with 
 the peculiar Mayan characters which some 
 archeologists call "calculi form hieroglyphs" (v. 
 
 P . 82). 
 
 On one of the altar-slabs near Palenque there 
 occurs a sculptured group 
 
 of several figures in the act of making offerings to a central 
 object shaped like the Latin cross. "The Latin, the Greek, 
 and the Egyptian cross or tau (T) were evidently sacred 
 symbols to this ancient people, bearing some religious 
 meanings derived from their own cult."* 
 
 The cross occurs frequently, not only in the 
 Mayan sculptures, but also in the ceremonial of 
 the Aztecs. The Spanish followers of Cortes 
 were astonished to see this symbol used by these 
 "barbarians," as they called them. Winsor (i, 
 195) says that the Mayan cross has been ex 
 plained to mean "the four cardinal points, the 
 
 * D. G. Brinton. 
 
AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY 79 
 
 rain-bringers, the symbol of life and health" ; and 
 again, "the emblem of fire, indeed an ornamental 
 fire-drill." 
 
 Students of architecture find a rudimentary 
 form of the arch occurring in some of the ruins, 
 notably at Palenque. Two walls are built paral 
 lel to each other, at some distance apart, then at 
 the beginning of the arch the layers on both sides 
 have the inner stones slightly projecting,, each 
 layer projecting a little more than the previous 
 one, till at a certain height the stones of one wall 
 are almost touching those of the wall opposite. 
 Finally, a single flat stone closes in the space be 
 tween and completes the arch. 
 
 In Honduras, on the banks of the Copan, the 
 Spaniards found a prehistoric capital in ruins, on 
 an elevated area, surrounded by substantial walls 
 built of dressed stones, and enclosing large 
 groups of buildings. One structure is mainly 
 composed of huge blocks of polished stone. In 
 several houses the whole of the external surface 
 is covered with elaborate carved designs : 
 
 The adjacent soil is covered with sculptured obelisks, 
 pillars, and idols, with finely dressed stones, and with 
 blocks ornamented with skilfully carved figures of the char 
 acteristic Maya hieroglyphs, which, could they be de 
 ciphered, would doubtless reveal the story of this strange 
 and solitary city. 
 
 In western Guatemala, at Utatla, the ancient 
 capital of the Quiches, a tribe allied to the Mayas, 
 several pyramids still remain. One is 120 feet 
 high, surmounted by a stone wall, and another is 
 ascended by a staircase of nineteen steps, each 
 nineteen inches in height. 
 
8o EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 The literary remains (such as Alphabets, 
 Hieroglyphs, Manuscripts, etc.) of the Maya and 
 Aztec races are in some respects as vivid a proof 
 of the extinct civilizations as any of the archi 
 tectural monuments already discussed. Both 
 Aztecs and Mayans of Yucatan and Central 
 America used picture-writing, and sometimes an 
 imperfect form of hieroglyphics. The most ele 
 mentary kind was simply a rough sketch of a 
 scene or historical group which they wished to 
 record. When, for example, Cortes had his first 
 interview with some messengers sent by Mon- 
 tezuma, one of the Aztecs was observed sketch 
 ing the dress and appearance of the Spaniards, 
 and then completing his picture by using colors. 
 Even in recent times Indians have recorded facts 
 by pictographs: in Harper s Magazine (August, 
 1902) we read that "pictographs and painted 
 rocks to the number of over 3,000 are scat 
 tered all over the United States, from the Digh- 
 ton Rock, Massachusetts (v. pp. 27, 28), to the 
 Kern River Canon in California, and from the 
 Florida Cape to the Mouse River in Manitoba. 
 The identity of the Indians with their ancient 
 progenitors is further proved by relics, mortuary 
 customs, linguistic similarities, plants and veg 
 etables, and primitive industrial and mechanical 
 arts, which have remained constant throughout 
 the ages." The pictographs of the Kern River 
 Canon, according to the same writer, were in 
 scribed on the rocks there "about five thousand 
 years ago." 
 
 A more advanced form of picture-writing is 
 frequently found in the Mayan and other inscrip 
 tions and manuscripts. Two objects are repre- 
 
AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY 8 1 
 
 sented, whose names, when pronounced together, 
 give a sound which suggests the name to be re 
 corded or remembered. Thus, the name Glad 
 stone may be expressed in this manner by two 
 pictures, one a laughing face (i. e., "happy" or 
 "glad" the other a rock (i. e., "stone"). It is ex 
 actly the same contrivance that is used to con 
 struct the puzzle called a "rebus." 
 
 A third form of hieroglyphic was by devising 
 some conventional mark or symbol to suggest the 
 initial sound of the name to be recorded. Such 
 a mark or character would be a "letter," in fact ; 
 and thus the prehistoric alphabets were arrived 
 at, not only among the early Mayans of Yucatan, 
 etc., but among the prehistoric peoples of Asia, 
 as the Chinese, the Hittites, etc., as well as the 
 primeval Egyptians. Many of the sculptures in 
 Copan and Palenque to which we have referred 
 contain pictographs and hieroglyphs. A Spanish 
 Bishop of Yucatan drew up a Mayan alphabet in 
 order to express the hieroglyphs on monuments 
 and manuscripts in Roman letters ; but much 
 more data are needed before scholars will read 
 the ancient Mayan-Aztec tongues as they have 
 been enabled to understand the Egyptian inscrip 
 tions or the cuneiform records of Babylonia. 
 For the American hieroglyphs we still lack a sec 
 ond Young or Champollion. 
 
 There are three famous manuscripts in the 
 Mayan character : 
 
 1. The Dresden Codex, preserved in the Royal 
 Library of that city. It is called a "religious and 
 astrological ritual" by Abbe Brasseur. 
 
 2. Codex Troano, in Madrid, described in two 
 folios by Abbe Brasseur. 
 
 6 
 
82 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 3. Codex Peresianus, named from the wrap 
 per in which it was found, 1859, which had the 
 name "Perez." It is also known as Codex Mexi- 
 canus. 
 
 In Lord Kingsborouglrs great work on Mexi 
 can Antiquities there are several of the Mayan 
 manuscripts printed in facsimile, and others in a 
 book by M. Aubin, of Paris. 
 
 Each group of letters in a Mayan inscription 
 is enclosed in an irregular oval, supposed to re 
 semble the cross-section of a pebble ; hence the 
 term cakutiform (i. e., "pebble-shaped") is ap 
 plied to their hieroglyphs, as cuneiform (i. e., 
 "wedge-shaped") is applied to the Babylonian 
 and Assyrian letters. 
 
 The paper which the prehistoric Mexicans 
 (Mayas, Aztecs, or Tescucans, etc.) used for 
 writing and drawing upon was of vegetable 
 origin, like the Egyptian papyrus. It was made 
 by macerating the leaves of the maguey, a plant 
 of the greatest importance (v. p. 94). When 
 the surface of the paper was glazed, the letters 
 were painted on in brilliant colors, proceeding 
 from left to right, as we do. Each book was a 
 strip of paper, several yards long and about ten 
 inches wide, not rolled round a stick, as the vol 
 umes of ancient Rome were, but folded zigzag, 
 like a screen. The protecting boards which held 
 the book were often artistically r carved and 
 painted. 
 
 The topics of the ordinary books, so far as we 
 yet know, were religious ritual, dreams, and pro 
 phecies, the calendar, chronological notes, medical 
 superstitions, portents of marriage and birth. 
 The written language was in common and ex- 
 
AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY 83 
 
 tensive use for the legal conveyance and sale of 
 property. 
 
 One of the most remarkable facts connected 
 with this extinct civilization was the accuracy of 
 their calendar and chronological system. Their 
 calendar was actually superior to that then exist 
 ing in Europe. They had two years : one for civil 
 purposes, of three hundred and sixty-five days, 
 divided into eighteen months of twenty days, be 
 sides five supplementary days ; the other, a ritual 
 or ecclesiastical year, to regulate the public fes 
 tivals. The civil year required thirteen days to be 
 added at the end of every fifty-two years, so as 
 to harmonize with the ritual year. Each month 
 contained four weeks of five days, but as each of 
 the twenty days (forming a month) had a distinct 
 name, Humboldt concluded that the names were 
 borrowed from a prehistoric calendar used in 
 India and Tartary. 
 
 Wilson (Prehistoric Man, i, 133) remarks: 
 
 By the unaided results of native science the dwellers on 
 the Mexican plateau had effected an adjustment of civil 
 to solar time so nearly correct that when the Spaniards 
 landed on their coast, their own reckoning according to the 
 unreformed Julian calendar, was really eleven days in er 
 ror, compared with that of the barbarian nation whose 
 civilization they so speedily effaced. 
 
 In 1790 there was found in the Square of 
 Mexico a famjus relic, the Mexican Calendar 
 Stone, "one of the most striking monuments of 
 American antiquity." It was long supposed to 
 have been intended for chronological purposes ; 
 but later authorities call it a votive tablet or 
 sacrificial altar. * Similar circular stones have 
 * Pp. 68-70, v. p. 95. 
 
84 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 been dug up in other parts of Mexico and in 
 Yucatan. 
 
 Both the Mayas and the Aztecs excelled in the 
 ordinary arts of civilized life. Paper-making has 
 already been spoken of. Cotton being an im 
 portant produce of their soil, they understood its 
 spinning, dyeing, and weaving so well that the 
 Spaniards mistook some of the finer Aztec fabrics 
 for silk. They cultivated maize, potatoes, plan 
 tains, and other vegetables. Both in Mexico and 
 Yucatan they produced beautiful work in feath 
 ers ; metal working was not so important as in 
 some countries, being chiefly for ornamental pur 
 poses. In fact, it was the comparative plenty of 
 gold and silver around Mexico that delayed the 
 invasion of the Mayan country for more than 
 twenty years. The Mayas had developed trade 
 to a considerable extent before the Spanish in 
 vasion, and interchanged commodities with the 
 island of Cuba. It was there, accordingly, that 
 Columbus first saw this people, and first heard of 
 Yucatan. 
 
 Of the Mexican remains on the central plateau, 
 the most conspicuous is the mound or pyramid of 
 Cholula, although it retains few traces of pre 
 historic art. A modern church with a dome and 
 two towers now occupies the summit, with a 
 paved road leading up to it. It is chiefly noted, 
 first, by antiquaries, as having originally been a 
 great temple of Quetzalcoatl, the beneficent deity, 
 famous in story ; and, secondly, for the fierce 
 struggle around the mound and on the slopes be 
 tween the Mexicans and Spanish. (V. pp. 130- 
 
 I33-) 
 
 Another mound in this district, Yochicalco, lies 
 
AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY &$ 
 
 seventy-five miles southwest of the capital. It is 
 considered one of the best memorials of the ex 
 tinct civilization, consisting of five terraces sup 
 ported by stone walls, and formerly surmounted 
 by a pyramid. 
 
 Passing from the traces of Aztec and Mayan 
 civilization, we may now glance at the antiquities 
 of the Colombian states. There are no temples 
 or large structures, because the natives; before the 
 Spanish conquest, used timber for building, but 
 owing to the abundance of gold in their brooks 
 and rivers, they developed skill in gold-working, 
 and produced fine ornaments of wonderful beauty. 
 Many hollow figures have been found, evidently 
 cast from molds, representing men, beasts, and 
 birds, .etc. Stone-cutting was also an art of this 
 ancient race, sometimes applied to making idols 
 bearing hieroglyphs. 
 
 When the Spaniards invaded them to take their 
 gold and precious stones, the "Chibchas," who 
 then held the Colombian table-land and valleys, 
 threw large quantities of those valuables into a 
 lake near Bogota, the capital. It was afterward 
 attempted to recover those treasures by draining 
 off the water, but only a small portion was found ; 
 and in the present year ( 1903) a new engineering 
 attempt has been made. A Spanish writer, in 
 1858, asserted that evidence was found in the 
 caves and mines that in ancient times the Colom 
 bians produced an alloy of gold, copper, and iron 
 having the temper and hardness of steel. On a 
 tributary of the River Magdalena there are many 
 curious stone images, sometimes with grotesquely 
 carved faces. 
 Turning next to the mound-builders, in the 
 
86 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Ohio and upper Mississippi Valley, we find 
 traces of an extinct civilization in high mounds, 
 evidently artificial, extensive embankments, broad 
 deep ditches, terraced pyramids, and an interest 
 ing variety of stone implements and pottery. 
 Some mounds were for burial-places, others for 
 sacrificial purposes, others again as a site for 
 building, like those we have seen in Mexico and 
 Maya. Many enclosures contain more than fifty 
 acres of land ; and one embankment is fifty miles 
 long. Among the relics associated with those 
 works are articles of pottery, knives, and copper 
 ornaments, hammered silver, mica, obsidian, 
 pearls, beautifully sculptured pipes, shells, and 
 stone implements. The mounds found in some of 
 the Gulf States seem to confirm a theory that the 
 mound-builders were the ancestors of the Choc- 
 taw Indians and their allies, and had been driven 
 southward. 
 
 In the lower Mississippi Valley, eastward to 
 the seacoast, there are many large earthworks, 
 including round and quadrilateral mounds, em 
 bankments, canals, and artificial lakes. Similar 
 works can be traced to the southern extremity of 
 Florida. Some were constructed as sites for large 
 buildings. The tribes to whom they are due are 
 now known to have been agricultural growing 
 maize, beans, and pumpkins ; with these products 
 and those of the chase they supported a consid 
 erable population. 
 
 Among other antiquarian remains in America 
 are the cliff-houses and "pueblos." The former 
 peculiarity is explained by the deep canons of the 
 dry table-land of Colorado. Imagine a narrow 
 deep cutting or narrow trench worn by water- 
 
AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY 
 
 courses out of solid rock, deep enough to afford a 
 channel to the stream from 500 to 1,500 feet be 
 low the plateau above. Next imagine one of the 
 caves which the water many ages ago had worn 
 out of the perpendicular sides of the canon ; and 
 in that cave a substantial, well-built structure of 
 cut stones bedded in 
 firm mortar. . Such are 
 the "cliff - houses," 
 sometimes of two sto 
 ries. Occasionally 
 there is a watch-tower 
 perched on a conspic 
 uous point of rock 
 near a cliff-dwelling, 
 with small windows 
 looking to the east and 
 north. These curious 
 buildings, though now 
 prehistoric, in a sense, 
 are believed by arche- 
 ologists to be later than 
 the Spanish conquest. 
 Peru is very impor- 
 t a n t archeologically, 
 but some interesting Chulpa or Stone Tomb of the 
 
 . , .,, i Peruvians. 
 
 points will properly 
 
 fall under our general 
 
 account of that country and its conquest by 
 
 Spain. 
 
 In Peruvian architecture, we find "Cyclopean 
 walls," with polygonal stones of five or six feet 
 diameter, sp well polished and adjusted that no 
 mortar was necessary; sometimes with a project 
 ing part of the stone fitting exactly into a corre- 
 
88 
 
 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 spending cavity of the stone immediately above 
 or below it. Such huge stones are of hard granite 
 or basalt, etc. The walls are often very massive 
 and substantial, sometimes from thirty to forty 
 feet in thickness. The only approach to the 
 modern "arch" in the Peruvian structures is a 
 device similar to that which was described under 
 the Mayan architecture. 
 
 Some important buildings were surrounded 
 with large upright stones, similar to the famous 
 "Druidic" temple at Stonehenge. All of the chief 
 structures were accurately placed with reference 
 to the cardinal points, and the main entrance al 
 ways faced the east. The Peruvian tombs were 
 very elaborate, one kind being made by cutting 
 caverns in the steep precipices of the cordillera 
 and then carefully walling in the entrance. An 
 other variety (the chulpa) was really a stone 
 tower erected above ground, twelve to thirty feet 
 high. The chulpas were sometimes built in 
 groups. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 MEXICO BEFORE THE SPANISH INVASION 
 
 THE Aztecs and the Tescucans were the chief 
 races occupying the great table-land of Anahuac, 
 including, as we have seen, the famous Mexican 
 Valley. In the preceding chapter we have set 
 forth some of the leading points in the extinct 
 civilization of those races, and also that of the 
 Mayas, who in several respects were perhaps 
 superior to the Anahuac kingdoms. 
 
MEXICO BEFORE THE INVASION 89 
 
 Several features of the early Mexican civiliza 
 tion will come before us as we accompany the 
 European conquerors in their march over the 
 table-land. Meantime, we glance first at the 
 geography of this magnificent region, and sec 
 ondly at the manners and institutions of the peo 
 ple, their industrial arts, etc., and their terrible 
 religion. The last-mentioned topic has already 
 been partly discussed in Chapter III. 
 
 The Tropic of Cancer passes through the mid 
 dle of Mexico, and therefore its southern half, 
 which is the most important, is all under the 
 burning sun of the "torrid zone." This heat, 
 however, is greatly modified by the height of the 
 surface above sea-level, since the country, taken 
 as a whole, is simply an extensive table-land. 
 The height of the plain in the two central states, 
 Mexico and Puebla, is 8,000 feet, or about double 
 the average height of the highest summits in the 
 British Isles. On the west of the republic is a 
 continuous chain of mountains, and on the east 
 of the table-land run a series of mountainous 
 groups parallel to the seacoast, with a summit in 
 Vera Cruz of over 13,400 feet. To the south 
 of the capital an irregular range running east and 
 west contains these remarkable volcanoes Co- 
 lima, 14,400 feet; Jorulla, Popocatepetl, 17,800; 
 Orizaba (extinct), 18,300, the highest summit in 
 Mexico, and, with the exception of some of the 
 mountains of Alaska, in North America. The 
 great plateau-basin formed around the capital and 
 its lakes is completely enclosed by mountains. 
 
 This high table-land has its own climate as 
 compared with the broad tract lying along the 
 Atlantic. Hence the latter is known as the hot 
 
90 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 region (calicntc), and the former the cold region 
 ( fria) . Between the two climates, as the traveler 
 mounts from the sea-level to the great plateau, is 
 the temperate region (tcmplada) , an intermediate 
 belt of. perpetual humidity, a welcome escape 
 from the heat and deadly malaria of the hot 
 region with its "bilious fevers." Sometimes as 
 he passes along the bases of the volcanic moun 
 tains, casting his eye "down some steep slope or 
 almost unfathomable ravine on the margin of the 
 road, he sees their depths glowing with the rich 
 blooms and enameled vegetation of the tropics." 
 This contrast arises from the height he has now 
 gained above the hot coast region. 
 
 The climate on the table-land is only cold in a 
 relative sense, being mild to Europeans, with a 
 mean temperature at the capital of 60, seldom 
 lowered to the freezing-point. The "temperate" 
 slopes form the "Paradise of Mexico," from "the 
 balmy climate, the magnificent scenery, and the 
 wealth of semitropical vegetation." 
 
 The Aztec and Tescucan laws were kept in 
 state records, and shown publicly in hieroglyphs. 
 The great crimes against society were all punished 
 with death, including the murder of a slave. 
 Slaves could hold property, and all their sons 
 were freedmen. The code in general showed real 
 respect for the leading principles of morality. 
 
 In Mexico, as in ancient Egypt, 
 
 the soldier shared with the priest the highest consideration. 
 The king must be an experienced warrior. The tutelary 
 deity of the Aztecs was the god of war. A great object of 
 military expeditions was to gather hecatombs of captives 
 for his altars. The soldier who fell in battle was trans 
 ported at once to the region of ineffable bliss in the bright 
 
MEXICO BEFORE THE INVASION 9 1 
 
 mansions of the sun. ... Thus every war became a cru 
 sade; and the warrior was not only raised to a contempt 
 of danger, but courted it animated by a religious enthu 
 siasm like that of the early Saracen or the Christian cru 
 sader. 
 
 The officers of the armies wore rich and con 
 spicuous uniforms a tight-fitting tunic of quilted 
 cotton sufficient to turn the arrows of the native 
 Indians; a cuirass (for superior officers) made of 
 thin plates of gold or silver ; an overcoat or cloak 
 of variegated feather-work ; helmets of wood or 
 silver, bearing showy plumes, adorned with pre 
 cious stones and gold ornaments. Their belts, col 
 lars, bracelets, and earrings were also of gold or 
 silver. 
 
 Southey, in his poem, makes his Welsh prince, 
 Madoc, thus boast : 
 
 Their mail, if mail it may be called, was woven 
 
 Of vegetable down, like finest flax, 
 
 Bleached to the whiteness of new-fallen snow, 
 
 . . . Others of higher office were arrayed 
 
 In feathery breastplates, of more gorgeous hue 
 
 Than the gay plumage of the mountain-cock, 
 
 Than the pheasants glittering pride. But what were these 
 
 Or what the thin gold hauberk, when opposed 
 
 To arms like ours in battle ? 
 
 Madoc, i, 7. 
 
 We learn of the ancient Mexicans, to their 
 honor, that in the large towns hospitals were 
 kept for the cure of the sick and wounded sol 
 diers, and as a permanent refuge if disabled. Not 
 only so, says a Spanish historian, but "the sur 
 geons placed over them were so far better than 
 those in Europe that they did not protract the 
 cure to increase the pay." 
 
92 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Even the red man of the woods, as we learn 
 from Fenimore Cooper and Catlin, believes rev 
 erently in the Great Spirit who upholds the uni 
 verse ; and similarly his more civilized brother of 
 Mexico or Tezcuco spoke of a Supreme Creator, 
 Lord of Heaven and Earth. In their prayers 
 some of the phrases were : 
 
 The God by whom we live, omnipresent, knowing all 
 thoughts, giving all gifts, without whom man is nothing, 
 invisible, incorporeal, of perfect perfection and purity, un 
 der whose wings we find repose and a sure defense. 
 
 Prescott, however, remarks that notwithstand 
 ing such attributes "the idea of unity of a being 
 with whom volition is action, who has no need 
 of inferior ministers to execute his purposes 
 was too simple, or too vast, for their understand 
 ings ; and they sought relief, as usual, in a 
 plurality of deities, who presided over the ele 
 ments, the changes of the seasons, and the various 
 occupations of man." 
 
 The Aztecs, in fact, believed in thirteen dii 
 ma/ores and over 200 dii minores. To each of 
 these a special day was assigned in the calendar, 
 with its appropriate festival. Chief of them all 
 was that bloodthirsty monster Huitzilopochtli, the 
 hideous god of war tutelary deity of the nation. 
 There was a huge temple to him in the capital, 
 and on the great altar before his image there, and 
 on all his altars throughout the empire, the reek 
 ing blood of thousands of human victims was be 
 ing constantly poured out. 
 
 The terrible name of this Mexican Mars has 
 greatly puzzled scholars of the language. Ac 
 cording to one derivation, the name is a com- 
 
MEXICO BEFORE THE INVASION 
 
 93 
 
 pound of two words, humming-bird and on the 
 left, because his image has the feathers of that 
 bird on the left foot. Prescott naturally thinks 
 that "too amiable an etymology for so ruffian a 
 deity." The other name of the war-god, Mexitl 
 (i. e., "the hare of the aloes"), is much better 
 
 Quetzalcoatl. 
 
 known, because from it is derived the familiar 
 name of the capital. 
 
 The god of the air, Quetzalcoatl, a beneficent 
 deity, who taught Mexicans the use of metals, 
 agriculture, and the arts of government. Preacott 
 remarks that 
 
 he was doubtless one of those benefactors of their species 
 who have been deified by the gratitude of posterity. 
 
 There was a remarkable tradition of Quetzal 
 coatl, preserved among the Mexicans, that he had 
 been a king, afterward a god, and had a temple 
 
94 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 dedicated to his worship at Cholula * when on 
 his way to the Mexican Gulf. Embarking there, 
 he bade his people a long farewell, promising 
 that he and his descendants would revisit them. 
 The expectation of his return prepared the way 
 for the success of the tall white-skinned invaders. 
 
 In the Aztec agriculture, the staple plant was 
 of course the maize or Indian corn. Humboldt 
 tells us that at the conquest it was grown through 
 out America, from the south of Chile to the River 
 St. Lawrence ; and it is still universal in. the New 
 World. Other important plants on the Aztec 
 soil were the" banana, which (according to one 
 Spanish writer) was the forbidden fruit that 
 tempted our poor mother Eve ; the cacao, whose 
 fruit supplies the valuable chocolate; the vanilla, 
 used for flavoring; and most important of all, 
 the maguey, or Mexican aloe, much valued be 
 cause its leaves were manufactured into paper, 
 and its juice by fermentation becomes the na 
 tional intoxicant, "pulque." The maguey, or 
 great Mexican aloe, grown all over the table 
 land, is called "the miracle of nature," pro 
 ducing not only the pulque, but supplying thatch 
 for the cottages, thread and cords from its tough 
 fiber, pins and needles from the thorns which 
 grow on the leaves, an excellent food- from its 
 roots, and writing-paper from its leaves. One 
 writer, after speaking of the "pulque" being made 
 from the "maguey," adds, "with what remains of 
 these leaves they manufacture excellent and very 
 fine cloth, resembling Holland or the finest linen." 
 
 The itztli, formerly mentioned as being used 
 
 at the sacrifices by the officiating priest, was 
 
 * The ruins were referred to in chap, iv, (v. p. 84, also 130.) 
 
MEXICO BEFORE THE INVASION 95 
 
 "obsidian," a dark transparent mineral, of the 
 greatest hardness, and therefore useful for ma 
 king knives and razors. The Mexican sword was 
 serrated, those of the finest quality being of course 
 edged with itztli. Sculptured figures abounded 
 in every Aztec temple and town, but in design 
 very inferior to the ancient specimens of Egypt 
 and Babylonia, not to mention Greece. A re 
 markable collection of their sculptured images 
 occurred in the place or great square of Mexico 
 the Aztec forum and similar spots. Ever since 
 the Spanish invasion the destruction of the native 
 objects of art has been ceaseless and ruthless. 
 "Two celebrated bas-reliefs of the last Monte- 
 zuma and his father," says Prescott, "cut in the 
 solid rock, in the beautiful groves of Chapoltepec, 
 were deliberately destroyed, as late as the last 
 century [i. e., the eighteenth], by order of the 
 government." He further remarks : 
 
 This wantonness of destruction provokes the bitter 
 animadversion of the Spanish writer Martyr, whose en 
 lightened mind respected the vestiges of civilization wher 
 ever found. "The conquerors," says he, "seldom repaired 
 the buildings that they defaced; they would rather sack 
 twenty stately cities than erect one good edifice." 
 
 The pre-Columbian Mexicans inherited a prac 
 tical knowledge of mechanics and engineering. 
 The Calendar Stone, for example (spoken of in 
 the preceding chapter), a mass of dark porphyry 
 estimated at fifty tons weight, was carried for a 
 distance of many leagues from the mountains be 
 yond Lake Chalco, through a rough country 
 crossed by rivers and canals. In the passage its 
 weight broke down a bridge over a canal, and the 
 
96 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 heavy rock had to be raised from the water be 
 neath. With such obstacles, without the draft 
 assistance of horses or cattle, how was it possible 
 to effect such a transport ? Perhaps the mechan 
 ical skill of their builders and engineers had con 
 trived some tramway or other machinery. An 
 English traveler had a curious suggestion : 
 
 Latrobe accommodates the wonders of nature and art 
 very well to each other, by suggesting that these great 
 masses of stone were transported by means of the mastodon, 
 whose remains are occasionally disinterred in the Mexican 
 Valley. 
 
 The Mexicans wove many kinds of cotton 
 cloth, sometimes using as a dye the rich crimson 
 of the cochineal insect. They made a more ex 
 pensive fabric by interweaving the cotton with 
 the fine hair of rabbits and other animals ; some 
 times embroidering w r ith pretty designs of flowers 
 and birds, etc. The special art of the Aztec 
 weaver was in feather-work, which when brought 
 to Europe produced the highest admiration : 
 
 With feathers they could produce all the effect of a beau 
 tiful mosaic. The gorgeous plumage of the tropical birds, 
 especially of the parrot tribe, afforded every variety of 
 color; and the fine down of the humming-bird, which 
 reveled in swarms among the honeysuckle bowers of Mex 
 ico, supplied them with soft aerial tfhts that gave an ex 
 quisite finish to the picture. The feathers, pasted on a 
 fine cotton web, were wrought into dresses for the wealthy, 
 hangings for apartments, and ornaments for the temples. 
 
 When some of the Mexican feather-work was 
 shown at Strasbourg: "Never," says one ad 
 mirer, "did I behold anything so exquisite for 
 
MEXICO BEFORE THE INVASION 97 
 
 brilliancy and nice gradation of color, and for 
 beauty of design. No European artist could have 
 made such a thing." 
 
 Instead of shops the Aztecs had in every town 
 a market-place, where fairs were held every fifth 
 day i. e., once a week. Each commodity had a 
 particular quarter, and the traffic was partly by 
 barter, and partly by using the following articles 
 as money: bits of tin shaped like an Egyptian 
 cross (T), bags of cacao holding a specified 
 number of grains, and, for large values, quills of 
 gold-dust. 
 
 The married women among the Aztecs were 
 treated kindly and respectfully by their husbands. 
 The feminine occupations were spinning and em 
 broidery, etc., as among the ancient Greeks, 
 while listening to ballads and love stories related 
 by their maidens and* musicians (Ramusio, iii, 
 
 305). 
 
 In banquets and other social entertainments the 
 women had an equal share with the men. Some 
 times the festivities were on a large scale, with 
 costly preparations and numerous attendants. 
 The Mexicans, ancient and modern, have always 
 been passionately fond of flowers, and on great 
 occasions not only were the halls and courts 
 strewed and adorned in profusion with blossoms 
 of every hue and sweet odor, but perfumes 
 scented every room. The guests as they sat down 
 found ewers of water before them and cotton 
 napkins, since washing the hands both before and 
 after eating was a national habit of almost re 
 ligious obligation.* Modern Europeans believe 
 
 * Sahagun (vi, 22) quotes the precise instructions of a father 
 to his son : he must wash face and hands before sitting down 
 7 
 
98 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 that tobacco was introduced from America in the 
 time of Queen Isabella and Queen Elizabeth, but 
 ages before that period the Aztecs at their ban 
 quets had the "fragrant weed" offered to the 
 company, "in pipes, mixed up with aromatic sub 
 stances, or in the form of cigars, inserted in tubes 
 of tortoise-shell or silver/ The smoke after din 
 ner was no doubt preliminary to the siesta or nap 
 of "forty winks." It is not known if the Aztec 
 ladies, like their descendants in modern Mexico, 
 also appreciated the yetl, as the Mexicans called 
 "tobacco." Our word came from the natives of 
 Hayti, one of the islands discovered by Columbus. 
 
 The tables of the Aztecs abounded in good 
 food various dishes of meat, especially game, 
 fowl, and fish. The turkey, for example, was in 
 troduced into Europe from Mexico, although 
 stupidly supposed to have come from Asia. The 
 French named it coq d Indc* the "Indian cock," 
 meaning American, but the ordinary hearer im 
 agined d Indc meant from Hindustan. The blun 
 der arose from that misapplication of the word 
 "Indian," first made by Columbus, as we formerly 
 explained. 
 
 The- Aztec cooks dressed their viands with va 
 rious sauces and condiments, the more solid dishes 
 being followed by fruits of many kinds, as well as 
 sweetmeats and pastry. Chafing-dishes even were 
 used. Besides the varieties of beautiful flowers 
 
 to table, and must not leave till he has repeated the operation 
 and cleansed his teeth. 
 
 *The Spanish named this handsome \yvc&gallopavo (Lai. flaw, 
 the " peacock "). The wild turkey is larger and more beauti 
 ful than the tame, and therefore Benjamin Franklin, when 
 speaking sarcastically of the " American Eagle," insisted that 
 the wild turkey was the proper national emblem. 
 
MEXICO BEFORE THE INVASION 99 
 
 which adorned the table there were sculptured 
 vases of silver and sometimes gold. At table 
 
 the favorite beverage was the chocolatl flavored with vanilla 
 and different spices. The fermented juice of the maguey, 
 with a mixture of sweets and acids, supplied also various 
 agreeable drinks, of different degrees of strength. 
 
 When the young Mexicans of both sexes 
 amused themselves with dances, the older people 
 kept their seats in order to enjoy their pulque and 
 gossip, or listen to the discourse of some guest of 
 importance. The music which accompanied the 
 dances was frequently soft and rather plaintive. 
 
 The early Mexicans included the Tezcucans as 
 well as the Aztecs proper ; and since their capitals 
 were on the same lake and both races were closely 
 akin, we may devote some space to these Alco- 
 huans or eastern Aztecs. Their civilization was 
 superior to that of the western Aztecs in some 
 respects, and Nezahual-coyotl, their greatest 
 prince, formed alliance with the western state, 
 and then remodeled the various departments of 
 his government. He had a council of war, an 
 other of finance, and a third of justice. 
 
 A remarkable institution, under King Neza 
 hual-coyotl, was the "Council of Music/ intended 
 to promote the study of science and the practise 
 of art. 
 
 Tezcuco, in fact, became the nursery not only 
 of such sciences as could be compassed by the 
 scholarship of the period, but of various useful 
 and ornamental arts. "Its historians, orators, 
 and poets were celebrated throughout the coun 
 try. ... Its idiom, more polished than the 
 Mexican, continued long after the conquest to be 
 
ioo EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 that in which the best productions of the native 
 races were composed. Tezcuco was the Athens 
 of the Western World. . . . Among the most 
 illustrious of her bards was their king himself." 
 A Spanish writer adds that it was to the eastern 
 Aztecs that noblemen sent their sons "to study 
 poetry, moral philosophy, the heathen theology, 
 astronomy, medicine, and history." 
 
 The most remarkable problem connected with 
 ancient Mexico is how to reconcile the general 
 
 Ancient Bridge near Tezcuco. 
 
 refinement and civilization with the sacrifices of 
 human victims. There was no town or city but 
 had its temples in public places, with stairs visibly 
 leading up to the sacrificial stone, ever standing 
 ready before some hideous idol or other as al 
 ready described. 
 
 In all countries there have been public spec 
 tacles of bloodshed, not only as in the gladiators 
 in the ancient circus 
 
 butchered to make a Roman holiday, 
 or the tournays of the middle ages, but in the 
 
MEXICO BEFORE THE INVASION IOI 
 
 prize-ring fights and public executions by ax or 
 guillotine, of the age that is just passing away. 
 The thousands who perished for religious ideas 
 by means of the Holy Roman Inquisition should 
 not be overlooked by the Spanish writers who 
 are so indignant that Montezuma and his priests 
 sacrificed tens of thousands under the claims of 
 a heathen religion. The very day on which we 
 write these words, August i8th, is the anniver 
 sary of the last sentence for beheading passed by 
 our House of Lords. By that sentence three 
 Scottish "Jacobites" passed under the ax on 
 Tower Hill, where their remains still rest in a 
 chapel hard by. So lately as 1873, the Shah of 
 Persia, when resident as a visitor in Buckingham 
 Palace, was amazed to find that the laws of 
 Great Britain prevented him from depriving five 
 of his courtiers of their lives. They had just 
 been found guilty of some paltry infringement of 
 Persian etiquette. During the last generation 
 or the previous one, both in England and Scot 
 land, the country schoolmaster on a certain day 
 had the schoolroom cleared so that the children 
 and their friends should enjoy the treat of seeing 
 all the game-cocks of the parish bleeding on the 
 floor one after another, being either struck by a 
 spur to the brain, or else wounded to a painful 
 death. When James Boswell and others regularly 
 attended the spectacles of Tyburn and sometimes 
 cheered the wretched victim if he "died game/ 
 the philosopher will not wonder at the populace 
 of some city of ancient Mexico crowding round 
 the great temple and greedily watching the 
 bloody sacrifice done with full sanction of the 
 priesthood and the king. 
 
102 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 The primitive religions were derived from sun- 
 worship, and as fire is the nearest representative 
 of the sun, it seemed essential to burn the victim 
 offered as a sacrifice. At Carthage, the great 
 Phenician colony, children were cruelly sacrificed 
 by fire to the god Melkarth of Tyre. "Melkarth" 
 being simply Mclcch Kiriath (i. e., "King of the 
 City"), and therefore identical with the "Mo 
 loch" or u Molech" of the Ammonites, Moabites, 
 and Israelites. In the earliest prehistoric age the 
 children of Ammon, Moab, and Israel were ap 
 parently so closely akin that they had practically 
 the same religion and worshiped the same idols. 
 The tribal god was originally the god of Syria 
 or Canaan. In more than a dozen places of the 
 Old Testament we find the Hebrews accused of 
 burning their children or passing them through 
 the fire to the sun-god, but the ancient Mexicans 
 did not burn their victims, and in no case were the 
 victims their own children. The victims were cap 
 tives taken in war, or persons convicted of crime ; 
 and thus the Mexicans were in atrocity far sur 
 passed by those races akin to the Hebrews who 
 are much denounced by the sacred writers, e. g. : 
 
 Josiah . . . defiled Topheth that no man might make 
 his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech 
 (2 Kings xxiii, 10). 
 
 They have built also the high places to burn their sons 
 with fire for burnt-offerings (Jer. xix, 5). 
 
 Yea, they shed innocent blood, even the blood of their 
 sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the 
 idols of Canaan (Ps. cvi, 37). 
 
 That a father should offer his own child as a 
 sacrifice to the sun-god or any other, would to 
 
MEXICO BEFORE THE INVASION 103 
 
 the mild and gentle Aztec be too dreadful a con 
 ception. It is the enormous number who were 
 immolated that shocks the European mind, but 
 to the populace enjoying the spectacle the victims 
 were enemies of the king or criminals deserving 
 execution. 
 
 Perhaps it is a more difficult problem to explain 
 how so civilized a community as the Aztec races 
 undoubtedly were could look with complacency 
 upon any one tasting a dish composed of some 
 part of the captive he had taken in battle. It is 
 not only repulsive as an idea, but seems impos 
 sible. Yet much depends on the point of view 
 as well as the atmosphere. According to archeol- 
 ogists, all the primeval races of men could at a 
 pinch feed on human flesh, but after many genera 
 tions learned to do better without it. We may 
 have simply outgrown the craving, till at last we 
 call it unnatural, whereas those ancient Mexicans, 
 with all their wealth of food, had refined upon it. 
 Let us again refer to the Old Testament : 
 
 Thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters and these 
 hast thou sacrificed to be devoured (Ezek. xvi, 20). 
 
 . . . have caused their sons to pass for them through 
 the fire, to devour them (Ezek. xxiii, 37). 
 
 We may therefore infer that to the early races 
 of Canaan (including Israel), as well as to the 
 primeval Aztecs, it was a privilege and religious 
 custom to eat part of any sacrifice that had been 
 offered. 
 
 There can be little doubt, to any one who has 
 studied the earliest human antiquities, that all 
 races indulged in cannibalism, not only during 
 
104 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 that enormously remote age called Paleolithic, 
 but in comparatively recent though still prehis 
 toric times. "This is clearly proved by the num 
 ber of human bones, chiefly of women and young 
 persons, which have been found charred by fire 
 and split open for extraction of the marrow." 
 Such charred bones have frequently been pre 
 served in caves, as at Chaleux in Belgium, where 
 in some instances they occurred "in such numbers 
 as to indicate that they had been the scene of 
 cannibal feasts." 
 
 The survival of human sacrifice among the 
 Aztecs, with its accompanying traces of canni 
 balism, was due to the savagery of a long previous 
 condition of their Indian race ; just as in the Greek 
 drama, when that ancient people had attained a 
 high level of culture and refinement, the sacrifice 
 of a human life, sometimes a princess or other dis 
 tinguished heroine, was not unfrequent. We re 
 member Polyxena, the virgin daughter of Hecuba, 
 whom her own people resolved to sacrifice on the 
 tomb of Achilles ; and her touching bravery, as 
 she requests the Greeks not to bind her, being 
 ashamed, she says, "having lived a princess to 
 die a slave." A better known example is Iphi- 
 genia, so beloved by her father, King Agamem 
 non, and yet given up by him a victim for pur 
 poses of state and religion. 
 
 From the Greek drama, human sacrifices fre 
 quently passed to the Roman ; nor does such a 
 refined critic as Horace object to it, but only sug 
 gests that the bloodshed ought to be perpetrated 
 behind the scenes. In Seneca s play, Medea 
 (quoted in our Introduction), that rule was 
 grossly violated, since the children have their 
 
Io6 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 throats cut by their heroic mother in full view of 
 the audience. In the same passage (Ars Poetr, 
 185, 1 86) Horace forbids a banquet of human 
 flesh being prepared before the eyes of the public, 
 as had been done in a play written by Ennius, the 
 Roman poet. The religious sacrifice of human 
 victims by the "Druids" or priests of ancient Gaul 
 and Britain seems exactly parallel to the whole 
 sale executions on the Mexican tcocallis, since the 
 wretched victims whom our Celtic ancestors 
 packed for burning into those huge wicker 
 images, were captives taken in battle, like those 
 stretched for slaughter upon the Mexican stone of 
 sacrifice. 
 
 Human sacrifice was so common in civilized 
 Rome that it was not till the first century B. c. 
 that a law was passed expressly forbidding it 
 (Pliny, Hist. Nat., xxx, 3, 4). 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 
 
 THE "New Birth" of the world, which charac 
 terized the end of the fifteenth century, had an 
 enormous influence upon Spain. Her queen, the 
 "great Catholic Isabella," had, by assisting Co 
 lumbus, done much in the great discovery of the 
 Western World. Spain speedily had substantial 
 reward in the boundless wealth poured into her 
 lap, and the rich colonies added to her dominion. 
 Thus in the beginning of the sixteenth century 
 the new consolidated Spain, formed by the union 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 107 
 
 of the two kingdoms, Castile and Aragon, became 
 the richest and greatest of all the European states. 
 
 The Spanish governors in the West Indies be 
 ing ambitious of planting new colonies in the 
 name of the Spanish King, conquest and annexa 
 tion were stimulated in all directions. When 
 Cuba and Hayti were overrun and annexed to 
 Spain, not without much unjust treatment of the 
 simple natives, as we have seen, they became 
 centers of operation, whence expeditions could be 
 sent to Trinidad or any other island, to Panama, 
 to Yucatan, or Florida, or any other part of the 
 continent. After the marvelous experience of 
 Grijalva in Yucatan, then considered an island, 
 and his report that its inhabitants were quite a 
 civilized community compared with the natives 
 of the isles, Velasquez, the Governor of Cuba, 
 resolved at once to invade the new country for 
 purposes of annexation and plunder. 
 
 Velasquez prepared a large expedition for this 
 adventure, consisting of eleven ships with more 
 than 600 armed men on board ; and after much 
 deliberation chose Fernando Cortes to be the 
 commander. Who was this Cortes, destined by 
 his military genius and unscrupulous policy to be 
 comparable to Hannibal or Julius Caesar among 
 the ancients, and to Clive or Napoleon Bonaparte 
 among the moderns ? Velasquez knew him well 
 as one of his subordinates in the cruel conquest 
 of Cuba ; before that Cortes had distinguished 
 himself in Hayti as an energetic and skilled offi 
 cer. Of an impetuous and fiery temper which he 
 had learned to keep thoroughly in command, he 
 was characterized by that quality possessed by 
 all commanders of superior genius, the "art of 
 
io8 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 gaining the confidence and governing the minds 
 of men." As a youth in Spain he had studied for 
 the bar at the University of Salamanca ; and in 
 some of his speeches on critical occasions one can 
 find certain traces of his academical training in 
 the adroit arguments and clever appeals. 
 
 Other qualifications as an officer were his manly 
 and handsome appearance, his affable manners, 
 combined with "extraordinary address in all mar 
 tial exercises, and a constitution of such vigor as 
 to be capable of enduring any fatigue." 
 
 Cortes on reviewing his commission from the 
 Governor, Velasquez, was too shrewd not to be 
 aware of the importance of his new position. The 
 "Great Admiral," with reference to the discovery 
 of the New World, had said : "I have only opened 
 the door for others to enter" ; and Cortes was con 
 scious that now was the moment for that entrance. 
 Filled with unbounded ambition he rose to the 
 occasion. 
 
 Velasquez somewhat hypocritically pretended 
 that the object he had in view was merely barter 
 with the natives of New Spain that being the 
 name given by Grijalva to Yucatan and the 
 neighboring country. He ordered Cortes 
 
 to impress on the natives the grandeur and goodness of his 
 royal master; to invite them to give in their allegiance to 
 him, and to manifest it by regaling him with such com 
 fortable presents of gold, pearls, and precious stones as 
 by showing their own good-will would secure his favor and 
 protection. 
 
 Mustering his forces for the new expedition, 
 Cortes found that he had no sailors, 553 soldiers, 
 besides 200 Indians of the island ; ten heavy guns, 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 109 
 
 four lighter ones, called falconets. He had also 
 sixteen horses, knowing the effect of even a small 
 body of cavalry in dealing with savages. On 
 February 18, 1519, Cortes sailed with eleven ves 
 sels for the coast of Yucatan. 
 
 Landing at Tabasco, where Grijalva had found 
 the natives friendly, Cortes found that the Yuca- 
 tans had resolved to oppose him, and were pres 
 ently assembled in great numbers. The result of 
 the fighting, however, was naturally a foregone 
 conclusion, partly on account of "the astonish 
 ment and terror excited by the destructive effect" 
 of the European firearms, and the "monstrous 
 apparition" of men on horseback. Such quad 
 rupeds they had never seen before, and they con 
 cluded that the rider with his horse formed one 
 unaccountable animal. Gomara and other chroni 
 clers tell how St. James, the tutelar saint of Spain, 
 appeared in the ranks on a gray horse, and led the 
 Christians to victory over the heathen. 
 
 An especially fortunate thing for Cortes was 
 that among the female slaves presented after this 
 battle, there was one of remarkable intelligence, 
 who understood both the Aztec and the Mayan 
 languages, and soon learned the Spanish. She 
 proved invaluable to Cortes as an interpreter, and 
 afterward had a share in all his campaigns. She 
 is generally called Marina. 
 
 If the Spanish accounts are true, stating that 
 the native army consisted of five squadrons of 
 8,000 men each, then this victory is one of the 
 most remarkable on record, as a proof of the value 
 of gunpowder as compared with primitive bows 
 and arrows. To the simple Americans the ter 
 rible invaders seemed actually to wield the thun- 
 
no EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 der and the lightning. Next day Cortes made an 
 arrangement with the chiefs ; and after confidence 
 was restored, asked where they got their gold 
 from. They pointed to the high grounds on the 
 west, and said Culhna, meaning Mexico. 
 
 The Palm Sunday being at hand, the conversion 
 of the "heathen" was duly celebrated by pompous 
 and solemn ceremonial. The army marched in 
 procession with the priests at their head, accom 
 panied by crowds of Indians of both sexes, till 
 they reached the principal temple. A new altar 
 being built, the image of the presiding deity was 
 taken from its place and thrown down, to make 
 room for that of the Virgin carrying the infant 
 Saviour. 
 
 Cortes now learned that the capital of the Mex 
 ican Empire was on the mountain plains nearly 
 seventy leagues inland ; and that the ruler was the 
 great and powerful Montezuma. 
 
 It was on the morning of Good Friday that 
 Cortes landed on the site of Vera Cruz, which 
 after the conquest of Mexico speedily grew into 
 a flourishing seaport, becoming the commercial 
 capital of New Spain. A friendly conference 
 took place between Cortes and Teuhtlile, an Aztec 
 chief, who asked from what country the strangers 
 had come and why they had come. 
 
 "I am a servant," replied Cortes, "of a mighty 
 monarch beyond the seas, who rules over an im 
 mense empire, having kings and princes for his 
 vassals. Since my master has heard of the great 
 ness of the Mexican Emperor he has desired me 
 to enter into communication with him, and has 
 sent me as envoy to wait upon Montezuma with a 
 present in token of good-will, and with a message 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS I II 
 
 which I must deliver in person. When can I be 
 admitted to your sovereign s presence?" 
 
 The Aztec chief replied with an air of dignity : 
 "How is it that you have been here only two days, 
 and demand to see the Emperor? If there is 
 another monarch as powerful as Montezuma, I 
 have no doubt my master will be happy to inter 
 change courtesies." 
 
 The slaves of Teuhtlile presented to Cortes 
 
 ten loads of fine cotton, several mantles of that curious 
 feather-work whose rich and delicate dyes might vie with 
 the most beautiful painting, and a wicker basket filled with 
 ornaments of wrought gold, all calculated to inspire the 
 Spaniards with high ideas of the wealth and mechanical 
 ingenuity of the Mexicans. 
 
 Having duly expressed his thanks, Cortes then 
 laid before the Aztec chief the presents intended 
 for Montezuma. These were "an armchair richly 
 carved and painted ; a crimson cap bearing a gold 
 medal emblazoned with St. George and the 
 Dragon ; collars, bracelets, and other ornaments 
 of cut-glass, which, in a country where glass was 
 unknown, might claim to have the value of real 
 gems." 
 
 During the interview Teuhtlile had been curi 
 ously observing a shining gilt helmet worn by a 
 soldier, and said that it was exactly like that of 
 Quetzalcoatl. "Who is he?" asked Cortes. 
 "Quetzalcoatl is the god about whom the Aztecs 
 have the prophecy that he will come back to them 
 across the sea." Cortes promised to send the hel 
 met to Montezuma, and expressed a wish that it 
 would be returned filled with the gold-dust of the 
 
112 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Aztecs, that he might compare it with the Spanish 
 gold-dust ! 
 
 One reporter who was present says : 
 
 He further told Governor Teuhtlile that the Spaniards 
 were troubled with a disease of the heart for which gold 
 was a specific remedy! 
 
 Another incident of this notable interview was 
 that one of the Mexican attendants was observed 
 by Cortes to be scribbling with a pencil. It was 
 an artist sketching the appearance of the stran 
 gers, their dress, arms, and attitude, and filling in 
 the picture with touches of color. Struck with the 
 idea of being thus represented to the Mexican 
 monarch, Cortes ordered the cavalry to be exer 
 cised on the beach in front of the artists. 
 
 The bold and rapid movements of the troops, . . . the 
 apparent ease with which they managed the fiery animals 
 on which they were mounted, the glancing of their weapons, 
 and the shrill cry of the trumpet, all filled the spectators 
 with astonishment; but when they heard the thunders of 
 the cannon, which Cortes ordered to be fired at the same 
 time, and witnessed the volumes of smoke and flame issuing 
 from these terrible engines, and the rushing sound of the 
 balls, as they dashed through the trees of the neighboring 
 forest, shivering their branches into fragments, they were 
 filled with consternation and wonder, from which the Aztec 
 chief himself was not wholly free. 
 
 This was all faithfully copied by the picture- 
 writers, so far as their art went, in sketching and 
 vivid coloring. They also recorded the ships of 
 the strangers "the water-houses," as they were 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 113 
 
 named whose dark hulls and snow-white sails 
 were swinging at anchor in the bay. 
 
 Meantime what had Montezuma been doing, 
 the sad-faced * and haughty Emperor of Mexico, 
 land of the Aztecs and the Tezcucans? At the 
 beginning of his reign he had as a skilful general 
 led his armies as far as Honduras and Nicaragua, 
 extending the limits of the empire, so that it had 
 now reached the maximum. 
 
 Tezcuco, the sister state to Mexico, had latterly 
 shown hostility to Montezuma, and still more 
 formidable was the republic of Tlascala, lying 
 between his capital and the coast. Prodigies and 
 prophecies now began to affect all classes of the 
 population in the Mexican Valley. Everybody 
 spoke of the return from over the sea of the popu 
 lar god Quetzalcoatl, the fair-skinned and long 
 haired (p. 93). A generation had already elapsed 
 since the first rumors that white men in great 
 mysterious vessels, bearing in their hands the 
 thunder and lightning, were seizing the islands 
 and must soon seize the mainland. 
 
 No wonder that Montezuma, stern, tyrannical, 
 and disappointed, should be dismayed at the news 
 of Grijalva s landing, and still more so when hear 
 ing of the fleet and army of Cortes, and seeing 
 their horsemen pictured by his artists the whole 
 accompanied by exaggerated accounts of the guns 
 and cannon able to produce thunder and light 
 ning. After holding a council, Montezuma re 
 solved to send an embassy to Cortes, presenting 
 him with a present which should reflect the in 
 comparable grandeur and resources of Mexico, 
 
 * The name Montezuma means "sad or severe man," a title 
 suited to his features, though not to his mild character. 
 
114 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 and at the same time forbidding an approach to 
 the capital. 
 
 The governor Teuhtlile, on this second em 
 bassy, was accompanied by two Aztec nobles and 
 100 slaves, bearing the present from Montezuma 
 to Cortes. As they entered the pavilion of the 
 Spanish general the air was filled with clouds of 
 incense -which rose from censers carried by some 
 attendants. 
 
 Some delicately wrought mats were then unrolled, and 
 on them the slaves displayed the various articles, . . . 
 shields, helmets, cuirasses, embossed with plates and orna 
 ments of pure gold; collars and bracelets of the same 
 metal, sandals, fans, and crests of variegated feathers, in 
 termingled with gold and silver thread, and sprinkled with 
 pearls and precious stones; imitations of birds and ani 
 mals in wrought and cast gold and silver, of exquisite work 
 manship; curtains, coverlets, and robes of cotton, fine as 
 silk, of rich and various dyes, interwoven with feather-work 
 that rivaled the delicacy of painting. . . . The things 
 which excited most admiration were two circular plates of 
 gold and silver, as "large as carriage-wheels"; one repre 
 senting the sun was richly carved with plants and animals. 
 It was thirty palms in circumference, and was worth about 
 52,500 sterling.* 
 
 Cortes was interested in seeing the soldier s 
 helmet brought back to him full to the brim with 
 grains of gold. The courteous message from 
 Montezuma, however, did not please him much. 
 Montezuma excused himself from having a per 
 sonal interview by "the distance being too great, 
 
 * Robertson, the historian, gives ^5,000; but Prescott 
 reckons a. peso de oro at 2 I2s. 6d.; whence the 20,000 of the 
 text gives 20,000 x 2% = 2,500 x 21 1=^52,500. 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS H5 
 
 and the journey beset with difficulties and dan 
 gers from formidable enemies. . . . All that 
 could be done, therefore, was for the strangers to 
 return to their own land." 
 
 Soon after Cortes, by a species of statecraft, 
 formed a new municipality, thus transforming his 
 camp into a civil community. The name of the 
 new city was Villa Rica de Vera Cruz, i. e., "the 
 Rich Town of the True Cross." Once the munici 
 pality was formed, Cortes resigned before them 
 his office of captain-general, and thus became free 
 from the authority of Velasquez. The city council 
 at once chose Cortes to be captain-general and 
 chief justice of the colony. He could now go 
 forward unchecked by, any superior except the 
 Crown. 
 
 It was a desperate undertaking to climb with 
 an army from the hot region of this flat coast 
 through the varied succession of "slopes" which 
 form the temperate region, and at last, on the high 
 table-land, obtain entrance upon the great en 
 closed valley of Mexico. Cortes found that an 
 essential preliminary was to gain the friendship 
 of the Totonacs, a nation tributary to Montezuma. 
 Their subjection to the Aztecs he had already 
 verified, since one day when holding a conference 
 with the Totonac leaders and a neighboring 
 cazique (i. e., "prince"), Cortes saw five men of 
 haughty appearance enter the market-place, fol 
 lowed by several attendants, and at once receive 
 the politest attention from the Totonacs. 
 
 Cortes asked Marina, his slave interpreter, who 
 or what they were. "They are Aztec nobles," 
 she replied, "sent by Montezuma to receive trib 
 ute." Presently the Totonac chiefs came to Cortes 
 
Il6 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 with looks of dire dismay, to inform him of the 
 great Emperor s resentment at the entertainment 
 offered to the Spaniards, and demanding in ex 
 piation twenty young men and women for sacri 
 fice to the Aztec gods. 
 
 Cortes, with every look of indignation, insisted 
 that the Totonacs should not only refuse to com 
 ply, but should seize the Aztec messengers and 
 hold them strictly confined in prison. Unscrupu 
 lous to gain his ends, Cortes by lies and cunning 
 duplicity managed to set the Mexican nobles free, 
 dismissing them with a friendly message to Mon- 
 tezuma, while at the same time securing the confi 
 dence of the simple-minded Totonacs, urging 
 them to join the Spaniards and make a bold effort 
 to regain their independence. Some thought that 
 Cortes was really the kindly divinity Quetzal- 
 coatl, promised by the prophets to bring freedom 
 and happiness. 
 
 As an instance of the religious enthusiasm of 
 the Spanish invaders, we may give the account 
 of the "conversion" of Zempoalla, a city in the 
 Totonac district. When Cortes pressed upon the 
 cazique of Zempoalla that his mission was to turn 
 the Indians from the abominations of their present 
 religion, that prince replied that he could not ac 
 cept what the Spanish priests had told him about 
 the Creator and Ruler of the Universe ; especially 
 that he ever stooped to become a mere man, weak 
 and poor, so as to suffer voluntarily persecution 
 and even death at the hands of some of his own 
 creatures. The cazique added that he "would re 
 sist any violence offered to his gods, who would, 
 indeed, avenge the act themselves by the instant 
 destruction of their enemies." 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS H? 
 
 Cortes and his men seized the opportunity. 
 There is no doubt that, after witnessing some of 
 the barbarous sacrifices of human victims fol 
 lowed by cannibal feasts, their souls had naturally 
 been sickened. They now proceeded to force the 
 work of conversion as soon as Cortes had ap 
 pealed to them and declared that "God and the 
 holy saints would never favor their enterprise, if 
 such atrocities were allowed; and that for his 
 own part, he was resolved the Indian idols should 
 be demolished that very hour if it cost him his 
 life. 
 
 " Scarcely waiting for his commands the Span 
 iards moved toward one of the principal teocallis, 
 or temples, which rose high on a pyramidal foun 
 dation with a steep ascent of stone steps in the 
 middle. The cazique, divining their purpose, 
 instantly called his men to arms. The Indian war 
 riors gathered from all quarters, with shrill cries 
 and clashing of weapons, while the priests, in 
 their dark cotton robes, with disheveled tresses 
 matted with blood, rushed frantic among the na 
 tives, calling on them to protect their gods from 
 violation ! All was now confusion and tumult. 
 . . . Cortes took his usual prompt measures. 
 Causing the cazique and some of the principal citi 
 zens and priests to be arrested, he commanded 
 them to quiet the people, declaring that if a single 
 arrow was shot against a Spaniard, it should cost 
 every one of them his life. . . . The cazique cov 
 ered his face with his hands, exclaiming that the 
 gods would avenge their own wrongs. 
 
 "The Christians were not slow in availing them 
 selves of his tacit acquiescence. Fifty soldiers, at 
 a signal from their general, sprang up the great 
 
Ii8 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 stairway of the temple, entered the building on 
 the summit, the walls of which were black with 
 human gore, and dragged the huge wooden idols 
 to the edge of the terrace. Their fantastic forms 
 and features, conveying a symbolic meaning 
 which was lost on the Spaniards, seemed to their 
 eyes only the hideous lineaments of Satan. With 
 great alacrity they rolled the colossal monsters 
 down the steps of the pyramid, amid the tri 
 umphant shouts of their own companions and the 
 groans and lamentations of the natives. They 
 then consummated the whole by burning them in 
 the presence of the assembled multitude." 
 
 After the temple had been cleansed from 
 every trace of the idol-worship and its horrors, 
 a new altar was raised, surmounted by a lofty 
 cross, and hung with garlands of roses. A reac 
 tion having now set in among the Indians, many 
 were willing to become Christians, and some of 
 the Aztec priests even joined in a procession to 
 signify their conversion, wearing white robes in 
 stead of their former dark mantles, and carry 
 ing lighted candles in their hands, "while an 
 image of the Virgin half smothered under the 
 weight of flowers was borne aloft, and, as the 
 procession climbed the steps of the temple, was 
 deposited above the altar. . . . The impressive 
 character of the ceremony and the passionate 
 eloquence of the good priest touched the feel 
 ings of the motley audience, until Indians as well 
 as Spaniards, if we may trust the chronicler, 
 were melted into tears and audible sobs." 
 
 Before finally marching westward toward the 
 temperate "slopes" of the mountains, Cortes had 
 another opportunity of proving his generalship 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 119 
 
 and prompt resource at a critical moment. When 
 Agathocles, the autocratic ruler of Syracuse, 
 sailed over to defeat the Carthaginians, the first 
 thing he did on landing in Africa was to burn his 
 ships, that his soldiers might have no opportunity 
 of retreat, and no hope but in victory. Cortes 
 now acted on exactly the same principle. 
 
 After discovering that a number of his soldiers 
 had formed a conspiracy to seize one of the ships 
 and sail to Cuba, Cortes, on conviction, punished 
 two of the ringleaders with death. Soon after, 
 he formed the extraordinary resolution of de 
 stroying his ships without the knowledge of his 
 army. 
 
 The five worst ships were first ordered to be 
 dismantled ; and, soon after, to be sunk. When 
 the rest were inspected, four of them were con 
 demned in the same manner. 
 
 When the news reached Zempoalla, the army 
 were excited almost to open mutiny. Cortes, 
 however, was perfectly cool. Addressing the 
 army collectively, he assured them that the ships 
 were not fit for service, as had been shown by 
 due inspection. "There is one important advan 
 tage gained to the army, viz., the addition of a 
 hundred able-bodied recruits who were necessary 
 to man the lost ships. Besides all that, of what 
 use could ships be to us in the present expedition ? 
 As for me, I will remain here even without a 
 comrade. As for those who shrink from the dan 
 gers of our glorious enterprise, let them go back, 
 in God s name ! Let them go home, since there is 
 still one vessel left ; let them go on board and 
 return to Cuba. They can tell how they deserted 
 their commander and their comrades, and pa- 
 
120 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 tiently wait till they see us return loaded with the 
 spoils of the Aztecs." 
 
 Persuasion is the end of true oratory. The re 
 ply of the army to Cortes was the unanimous 
 shout "To Mexico ! To Mexico !" 
 
 After beginning the gradual ascent in their 
 march toward the table-land of Mexico, the first 
 place noted by the invaders was Jalapa, a town 
 which still retains its Aztec name, known to all 
 the world by the well-known drug grown there. 
 It is a favorite resort of the wealthier residents 
 in Vera Cruz, and that too tropical plain which 
 Cortes had just left. The mighty mountain 
 Orizaba, one of the guardians of the Mexican 
 Valley, is now full in sight, towering in solitary 
 grandeur with its robe of snow. 
 
 At last they reached a town so populous that 
 there were thirteen Aztec temples with the usual 
 sacrificial stone for human victims before each 
 idol. In the suburbs the Spanish were shocked 
 by a gathering of human skulls, many thousand 
 in number. This appalling reminder of the un 
 speakable sacrifices soon became a familiar sight 
 as they marched through that country. 
 
 Cortes asked the cazique if he were subject to 
 Montezuma. "Who is there," replied the local 
 prince, "that is not tributary to that Emperor?" 
 "/ am not," said the stranger general. Cortes 
 assured him that the monarch whom the Span 
 iards served had princes as vassals, who were 
 more powerful than the Aztec ruler. The cazique 
 said : 
 
 Montezuma could muster thirty great vassals, each mas 
 ter of 100,000 men. His revenues were incalculable, since 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 121 
 
 every subject, however poor, paid something. . . . More 
 than 20,000 victims, the fruit of his wars, were annually 
 sacrificed on the altars of his gods ! His capital stood on 
 a lake, in the center of a spacious valley. . . . The ap 
 proach to the city was by means of causeways several miles 
 long ; and when the connecting bridges were raised all 
 communication with the country was cut off. 
 
 The Indians showed the greatest curiosity re 
 specting the dresses, weapons, horses, and dogs 
 of their strange visitors. The country all around 
 was then well wooded and full of villages and 
 towns, which disappeared after the conquest. 
 Humboldt remarked, when he traveled there, 
 that the whole district had, "at the time of the ar 
 rival of the Spanish, been more inhabited and 
 better cultivated, and that in proportion as they 
 got higher up near the table-land, they found the 
 villages more frequent, the fields more sub 
 divided, and the people more law-abiding." 
 
 Before entering upon the table-land, Cortes re 
 solved to visit the republic of Tlascala, which was 
 noted for having retained its independence in 
 spite of the Aztecs. After sending an embassy, 
 consisting of the four chief Zempoallas, who had 
 accompanied the army, he set out toward Tlas 
 cala, lingering as they proceeded, so that his 
 ambassadors should have time to return. While 
 wondering at the delay, they suddenly reached a 
 remarkable fortification which marked the limits 
 of the republic, and acted as a barrier against the 
 Mexican invasions. Prescott thus describes it : 
 
 A stone wall nine feet in height and twenty in thickness, 
 with a parapet a foot and a half broad raised on the sum 
 mit for the protection of those who defended it. It had 
 
122 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 only one opening in the center, made by two semicircular 
 lines of wall overlapping each other for the space of forty 
 paces, and affording a passageway between, ten paces 
 wide, so contrived, therefore, as to be perfectly commanded 
 by the inner wall. This fortification, which extended 
 more than two leagues, rested at either end on the bold 
 natural buttresses formed by the sierra. The work was 
 built of immense blocks of stone nicely laid together with 
 out cement, and the remains still existing, among which 
 are rocks of the whole breadth of the rampart, fully at 
 test its solidity and size. 
 
 Who were the people of this stout-hearted re 
 public ? The Tlascalans were a kindred tribe to 
 the Aztecs, and after coming to the Mexican 
 Valley, toward the close of the twelfth century, 
 had settled for many years on the western shore 
 of Lake Tezcuco. Afterward they migrated to 
 that district of fruitful valleys where Cortes 
 found them ; Tlascala, meaning "land of bread." 
 They then, as a nation, consisted of four separate 
 states, considerably civilized, and always able to 
 protect their confederacy against foreign inva 
 sion. Their arts, religion, and architecture were 
 the same as those of the Aztecs and Tezcucans. 
 
 More than once had the Aztecs attempted to 
 bring the little republic into subjection, but in 
 vain. In one campaign Montezuma had lost a 
 favorite, besides having his army defeated ; and 
 though a much more formidable invasion fol 
 lowed, "the bold mountaineers withdrew into the 
 recesses of their hills, and coolly watching their 
 opportunity, rushed like a torrent on the inva 
 ders, and drove them back with dreadful slaugh 
 ter from their territories." 
 
 The Tlascalans had of course heard of the 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 123 
 
 redoubtable Europeans and their advance upon 
 Montezuma s kingdom, but not expecting any 
 visit themselves, they were in doubt about the 
 embassy sent by Cortes, and the council had not 
 reached a decision when the arrival of Cortes was 
 announced at the head of his cavalry. Attacked by 
 a body of several thousand Indians, he sent back 
 a horseman to make the infantry hurry up to his 
 assistance. Two of the horses were killed, a loss 
 seriously felt by Cortes ; but when the main body 
 had discharged a volley from their muskets and 
 crossbows, so astounded were the Tlascalan 
 Indians that they stopped fighting and withdrew 
 from the field. 
 
 Next morning, after Cortes had given careful 
 instruction to his army (now more than 3,000 in 
 number, with his Indian auxiliaries), they had 
 not marched far when they were met by two of 
 the Zempoallans, who had been sent as ambassa 
 dors. They informed Cortes that, as captives, 
 they had been reserved for the sacrificial stone, 
 but had succeeded in breaking out of prison. 
 They also said that forces were being collected 
 from all quarters to meet the Spaniards. 
 
 At the first encounter, the Indians, after some 
 spirited fighting, retreated in order to draw the 
 Spanish army into a defile impracticable for ar 
 tillery or cavalry. Pressing forward they found, 
 on turning an abrupt corner of the glen, that an 
 army of many thousands was drawn up in order, 
 prepared to receive them. As they came into 
 view, the Tlascalans set up a piercing war-cry, 
 shrill and hideous, accompanied by the melan 
 choly beat of a thousand drums. Cortes spurred 
 on the cavalry to force a passage for the infantry, 
 
124 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 and kept exhorting his soldiers, while showing 
 them an example of personal daring. "If we 
 fail now," he cried, "the Cross of Christ can 
 never be planted in this land. Forward, com 
 rades ! when was it ever known that a Castilian 
 turned his back on a foe ?" 
 
 With desperate efforts the soldiers forced a 
 passage through the Indian columns, and then, as 
 soon as the horse opened room for the move 
 ments of the gunners, the terrible "thunder and 
 lightning" of the cannon did the rest. The havoc 
 caused in their ranks, combined with the roar and 
 the flash of gunpowder, and the mangled car 
 casses, filled the whole of the barbarian army 
 with horror and consternation. Eight leaders of 
 the Tlascalan army having fallen, the prince 
 ordered a retreat. 
 
 The chief of the Tlascalans, Xicotencatl, was 
 no ordinary leader. When Cortes wished to 
 press on to the capital, he sent two envoys to the 
 Tlascalan camp, but all that Xicotencatl deigned 
 to reply was 
 
 that the Spaniards might pass on as soon as they chose to 
 Tlascala, and when they reached it their flesh would be 
 hewn from their bodies for sacrifice to the gods. If they 
 preferred to remain in their own quarters, he would pay 
 them a visit there the next day. 
 
 The envoys also told Cortes that the chief had 
 now collected another very large army, five bat 
 talions of 10,000 men each. There was evidently 
 a determination to try the fate of Tlascala by a 
 pitched battle and exterminate the bold invaders. 
 
 The next day, September 5, 1519, was there- 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 125 
 
 fore a critical one in the annals of Cortes. He 
 resolved to meet the Tlascalan chief in the field, 
 after directing the foot-soldiers to use the point 
 of their swords and not the edge; the horse to 
 charge at half speed, directing their lances at the 
 eyes of their enemies ; the gunners and cross- 
 bowmen to support each other, some loading 
 while others were discharging their pieces. 
 
 Before Cortes and his soldiers had marched 
 a mile they saw the immense Tlascalan army 
 stretched far and wide over a vast plain. "Noth 
 ing could be more picturesque than the aspect of 
 these Indian battalions, with the naked bodies of 
 the common soldiers gaudily painted, the fantas 
 tic helmets of the chiefs bright with ornaments 
 and precious stones, and the glowing panoplies 
 of feather-work. . . . 
 
 The golden glitterance and the feather-mail 
 
 More gay than glittering gold; and round the helm 
 
 A coronal of high upstanding plumes. . . . 
 
 . e . With war-songs and wild music they came on.* 
 
 The Tlascalan warriors had attained wonder 
 ful skill in throwing the javelin. "One species, 
 with a thong attached to it, which remained in the 
 slinger s hand, that he might recall the weapon, 
 was especially dreaded by the Spaniards." Their 
 various weapons were pointed with bone or ob 
 sidian, and sometimes headed with copper. 
 
 The yell or scream of defiance raised by these 
 Indians almost drowned the volume of sound 
 from "the wild barbaric minstrelsy of shell, 
 atabal, and trumpet with which they proclaimed 
 
 * Southey (Madoc, i, 7). 
 
126 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 their triumphant anticipations of victory over the 
 paltry forces of the invaders." 
 
 Advancing under a thick shower of arrows and 
 other missiles, the Spanish soldiers at a certain 
 distance quickly halted and drew up in order, 
 before delivering a general fire along the whole 
 line. The front ranks of their wild opponents 
 were mowed down and those behind were "petri 
 fied with dismay." 
 
 But for the accident of dissension having 
 arisen between the chiefs of the Tlascalans, it al 
 most seemed as if nothing could have saved 
 Cortes and his Spanish army. Before the battle, 
 the haughty treatment of one of those chiefs by 
 Xicotencatl, the cazique, provoked the injured 
 man to draw off all his contingent during the 
 battle, and persuade another chief to do the same. 
 With his forces so weakened, the cazique was 
 compelled to resign the field to the Spaniards. 
 
 Xicotencatl, in his eagerness for revenge, con 
 sulted some of the Aztec priests, who recom 
 mended a night attack upon Cortes s camp in 
 order to take his army by surprise. The Tlas- 
 calan, therefore, with 10,000 warriors, marched 
 secretly toward the Spanish camp, but owing to 
 the bright moonlight they were not unseen by 
 the vedettes. Besides that, Cortes had accus 
 tomed his army to sleep with their arms by their 
 side and the horses ready saddled. In an instant, 
 as it were, the whole camp were on the alert and 
 under arms. The Indians, meanwhile, were 
 stealthily advancing to the silent camp, and, "no 
 sooner had they reached the slope of the rising 
 ground than they were astounded by the deep 
 battle-cry of the Spaniards, followed by the in- 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 127 
 
 stantaneous appearance of the whole army. 
 Scarcely awaiting the shock of their enemy, the 
 panic-struck barbarians fled rapidly and tumul- 
 tuously across the plain. The horse easily over 
 took the fugitives, riding them down, and cutting 
 them to pieces without mercy/ Next day Cortes 
 sent new ambassadors to the Tlascalan capital, 
 accompanied by his faithful slave interpreter, 
 Marina. They found the cazique s council sad 
 and dejected, every gleam of hope being now 
 extinguished. 
 
 The message of Cortes still promised friend 
 ship and pardon, if only they agreed to act as 
 allies. If the present offer were rejected, "he 
 would visit their capital as a conqueror, raze 
 every house to the ground, and put every inhab 
 itant to the sword/ On hearing this ultimatum, 
 the council chose four leading chiefs to be en 
 trusted with a mission to Cortes, "assuring him of 
 a free passage through the country, and a friendly 
 reception in the capital." The ambassadors, on 
 their way back to Cortes, called at the camp of 
 Xicotencatl, and were there detained by him. 
 He was still planning against the terrible in 
 vaders. 
 
 Cortes, in the meantime, had another oppor 
 tunity of showing his resource and presence of 
 mind. Some of his soldiers had shown a grum 
 bling discontent : "The idea of conquering Mex 
 ico was madness ; if they had encountered such 
 opposition from the petty republic, what might 
 they not expect from the great Mexican Empire ? 
 There was now a temporary suspension of hos 
 tilities ; should they not avail themselves of it to 
 retrace their steps to Vera Cruz ?" To this Cortes 
 
128 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 listened calmly and politely, replying that "he had 
 told them at the outset that glory was to be won 
 only by toil and danger; he had never shrunk 
 from his share of both. To go back now was im 
 possible. What would the Tlascalans say ? How 
 would the Mexicans exult at such a miserable is 
 sue ! Instead of turning your eyes toward Cuba, 
 fix them on Mexico, the great object of our enter 
 prise." Many other soldiers having gathered 
 round, the mutinous party took courage to say 
 that "another such victory as the last would be 
 their ruin ; they were going to Mexico only to be 
 slaughtered." With some impatience Cortes 
 gaily quoted a soldiers song : 
 
 Better die with honor 
 Than live in long disgrace! 
 
 a sentiment which the majority of the audience 
 naturally cheered to the echo, while the malcon 
 tents slunk away to their quarters. 
 
 The next event was the arrival of some Tlas 
 calans wearing white badges as an indication of 
 peace. They brought a message, they said, from 
 Xicotencatl, who now desired an arrangement 
 with Cortes, and would soon appear in person. 
 Most of them remained in the camp, where they 
 were treated kindly; but Marina, with her 
 "woman s wit," became somewhat suspicious of 
 them. Perhaps some of them, forgetting that 
 she knew their language, let drop a phrase in 
 talking to each other, which awoke her distrust. 
 She told Cortes that the men were spies. He 
 had them arrested and examined separately, as 
 certaining in that way that they were sent to 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 129 
 
 obtain secret information of the Spanish camp, 
 and that, in fact, Xicotencatl was mustering his 
 forces to make another determined attack on the 
 invading army. 
 
 To show the fierceness of his resentment at 
 such treatment, Cortes ordered the fifty spy am 
 bassadors to have their hands hacked off, and 
 sent back to tell their lord that "the Tlascalans 
 might come by clay or night, they would find the 
 Spaniards ready for them." The sight of their 
 mutilated comrades filled the Indian camp with 
 dread and horror. All thoughts of resistance to 
 the advance of Cortes were now abandoned, and 
 not long after the arrival of Xicotencatl himself 
 was announced, attended by a numerous train. 
 He advanced with "the firm and fearless step of 
 one who was coming rather to bid defiance than 
 to sue for peace. He was rather above the middle 
 size, with broad shoulders and a muscular frame, 
 intimating great activity and strength. He made 
 the usual salutation by touching the ground with 
 his hand and carrying it to his head." He threw 
 no blame on the Tlascalan senate, but assumed 
 all the responsibility of the war. He admitted 
 that the Spanish army had beaten him, but hoped 
 they would use their victory with moderation, 
 and not trample on the liberties of the repub 
 lic. 
 
 Cortes admired the cazique s lofty spirit, while 
 pretending to rebuke him for having so long re 
 mained an enemy. "He was willing to bury the 
 past in oblivion, and to receive the Tlascalans as 
 vassals to the Emperor, his master." 
 
 Before the entry into Tlascala, the capital, 
 there arrived an embassy from Montezuma, who 
 9 
 
130 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 had been keenly disappointed, no doubt, that 
 Cortes had not only not been defeated by the 
 bravest race on the Mexican table-land, but had 
 formed a friendly alliance with them. 
 
 As Cortes, with his army, approached the popu 
 lous city, they were welcomed by great crowds 
 of men and women in picturesque dresses, with 
 nosegays and wreaths of flowers ; priests in white 
 robes and long matted tresses, swinging their 
 burning censers of incense. The anniversary of 
 this entry into Tlascala, September 23, 1519, is 
 still celebrated as a day of rejoicing. 
 
 Cortes, in his letter to the Emperor, King of 
 Spain, compares it for size and appearance to 
 Granada, the Moorish capital. Pottery was one 
 of the industries in which Tlascala excelled. The 
 Tlascalan was chiefly agricultural in his habits ; 
 his honest breast glowed with the patriotic at 
 tachment to the soil, which is the fruit of its dili 
 gent culture, while he was elevated by that con 
 sciousness of independence which is the natural 
 birthright of a child of the mountains. 
 
 Cholula, capital of the republic of that name, is 
 six leagues north of Tlascala, and about twenty 
 southeast of Mexico. In the time of the con 
 quest of the table-land of Anahuac, as the whole 
 district is sometimes termed, this city was large 
 and populous. The people excelled in mechanical 
 arts, especially metal-working, cloth-weaving, 
 and a delicate kind of pottery. Reference has 
 already been made to the god Quetzalcoatl, in 
 whose honor a huge pyramid was erected here. 
 From the farthest parts of Anahuac devotees 
 thronged to Cholula, just as the Mohammedans 
 to Mecca. 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS I3 1 
 
 The Spaniards found the people of Cholula 
 superior in dress and looks to any of the races 
 they had seen. The higher classes "wore fine 
 embroidered mantles resembling the Moorish 
 cloak in texture and fashion. . . . They showed the 
 same delicate taste for flowers as the other tribes 
 of the plateau, tossing garlands and bunches 
 among the soldiers. . . . The Spaniards were 
 also struck with the cleanliness of the city, the 
 regularity of the streets, the solidity of the 
 houses, and the number and size of the pyram 
 idal temples." After being treated with kind 
 ness and hospitality for several days, all at once 
 the scene changed, the cause being the arrival of 
 messengers from Montezuma. At the same 
 time some Tlascalans told Cortes that a great 
 sacrifice, mostly of children, had been offered to 
 propitiate the favor of the gods. 
 
 At this juncture, Marina, the Indian slave in 
 terpreter, again proved to be the "good angel" of 
 Cortes. She had become very friendly with the 
 wife of one of the Cholula caziques, who gave 
 her a hint that there was danger in staying at the 
 house of any Spaniard ; and, when further 
 pressed by Marina, said that the Spaniards were 
 to be slaughtered when marching out of the capi 
 tal. The plot had originated with the Aztec Em 
 peror, and 20,000 Mexicans were already quar 
 tered a little distance out of town. 
 
 In this most critical position, Cortes at once 
 decided to take possession of the great square, 
 placing a strong guard at each of its three gates 
 of entrance. The rest of what troops he had in 
 the town, he posted without with the cannon, to 
 command the avenues. He had already sent 
 
132 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 orders to the Tlascalan chiefs to keep their sol 
 diers in readiness to march, at a given signal, 
 into the city to support the Spaniards. Presently 
 the caziques of Cholula arrived with a larger 
 body of levies than Cortes had demanded. He 
 at once charged them with conspiring against the 
 Spaniards after receiving them as friends. They 
 were so amazed at his discovery of their perfidy 
 that they confessed everything, laying the blame 
 on Montezuma. "That pretense/ said Cortes, 
 assuming a look of fierce indignation, "is no justi 
 fication ; I shall now make such an example of 
 you for your treachery that the report of it will 
 ring throughout the wide borders of Anahuac!" 
 At the firing of a harquebus, the fatal signal, 
 the crowd of unsuspecting Cholulans were mas 
 sacred as they stood, almost without resistance. 
 Meantime the other Indians without the square 
 commenced an attack on the Spaniards, but the 
 heavy guns of the battery played upon them with 
 murderous effect, and cavalry advanced to sup 
 port the attack. 
 
 The steeds, the guns, the weapons of the Spaniards, were 
 all new to the Cholulans. Notwithstanding the novelty 
 of the terrific spectacle, the flash of arms mingling with the 
 deafening roar of the artillery, the desperate Indians pushed 
 on to take the places of their fallen comrades. 
 
 While this scene of bloodshed was progressing, 
 the Tlascalans, as arranged, were hastening to 
 the assistance of their Spanish allies. The Cho 
 lulans, when thus attacked in rear by their tradi 
 tional enemies, speedily gave way, and tried to 
 save themselves in the great temple and else- 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE SPANIARDS 133 
 
 where. The "Holy City," as it was called, was 
 converted into a pandemonium of massacre. In 
 memory of the signal defeat of the Cholulans, 
 Cortes converted the chief part of the great 
 temple into a Christian church. 
 
 Envoys again arrived from Mexico with rich 
 presents and a message vindicating the pusillani 
 mous Emperor from any share in the conspiracy 
 against Cortes. Continuing their march, the 
 allied army of Spaniards and Tlascalans pro 
 ceeded till they reached the mountains which 
 separate the table-land of Puebla from that of 
 Mexico. To cross this range they followed the 
 route which passes between the mighty Popo 
 catepetl (i. e., "the smoking mountain") and 
 another called the "White Woman" from its 
 broad robe of snow. The first lies about forty 
 miles southeast of the capital to which their 
 march was directed. It is more than 2,000 feet 
 higher than Mont Blanc, and has two principal 
 craters, one of which is about i ,000 feet deep and 
 has large deposits of sulfur which are regularly 
 mined. Popocatepetl has long been only a quies 
 cent volcano, but during the invasion by Cortes 
 it was often burning, especially at the time of 
 the siege of Tlascala. That was naturally inter 
 preted all over the district of Anahuac to be a bad 
 omen, associated with the landing and approach 
 of the Spaniards. Cortes insisted on several de 
 scents being made into the great crater till suffi 
 cient sulfur was collected to supply gunpowder to 
 his army. The icy cold winds, varied by storms 
 of snow and sleet, were more trying to the Euro 
 peans than the Tlascalans, but some relief was 
 found in the stone shelters which had been built at 
 
134 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 certain intervals along the roads for the accom 
 modation of couriers and other travelers. 
 
 At last they reached the crest of the sierra 
 which unites Popocatepetl, the "great Volcan" 
 to its sister mountain the "Woman in White." 
 Soon after, at a turning of the road, the invaders 
 enjoyed their first view of the famous Valley of 
 Mexico or Tenochtitlan, with its beautiful lakes 
 in their setting of cultivated plains, here and 
 there varied by woods and forests. "In the 
 midst, like some Indian empress with her coronal 
 of pearls, the fair city with her white towers and 
 pyramidal temples, reposing as it were on the 
 bosom of the waters the far-famed Venice of 
 the Aztecs/ 
 
 This view of the "Promised Land" will remind 
 some of the picturesque account given by Livy 
 (xxi, 35) of Hannibal reaching the top of the 
 pass over the Alps and pointing out the fair pros 
 pect of Italy to his soldiers. We may thus render 
 the passage : "On the ninth day the ridge of the 
 Alps was reached, over ground generally track 
 less and by roundabout ways. . . . The order for 
 marching being given at break of day, the army 
 were sluggishly advancing over ground wholly 
 covered with snow, listlessness, and despair de 
 picted on the features of all, Hannibal went on 
 in front, and after ordering the soldiers to halt 
 on a height which commanded a distant view, far 
 and wide, points out to them Italy and the plains 
 of Lombardy on both banks of the Po, at the foot 
 of the Alps, telling them that at that moment they 
 were crossing not only the walls of Italy but of 
 the Roman capital ; that the rest of the march was 
 easy and downhill." The situation of Hannibal 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 135 
 
 and his Carthaginians surveying Italy for the 
 first time is in some respects closely analogous 
 to that of Cortes pointing out the Valley of Mex 
 ico to his Spanish soldiers. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 
 
 WE have now seen the Spanish conquerors 
 with a large contingent of 6,000 natives surmount 
 ing the mountains to the east of the Mexican Val 
 ley and looking down upon the Lake of Tezcuco 
 on which were built the sister capitals. Monte- 
 zuma, the Aztec monarch, was already in a state 
 of dismay, and sent still another embassy to pro 
 pitiate the terrible Cortes, with a great present 
 of gold and robes of the most precious fabrics 
 and workmanship ; and a promise that, if the 
 foreign general would turn back toward Vera 
 Cruz, the Mexicans would pay down four loads 
 of gold for himself and one to each of his cap 
 tains, besides a yearly tribute to their king in 
 Europe. 
 
 These promises did not reach Cortes till he 
 was descending from the sierra. He replied that 
 details were best arranged by a personal inter 
 view, and that the Spaniards came with peaceful 
 motives. 
 
 Montezuma was now plunged in deep despair. 
 At last he summoned a council to consult his 
 nobles and especially his nephew, the young King 
 
136 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 of Tezcuco, and his warlike brother. The latter 
 advised him to "muster as large an army as pos 
 sible, and drive back the invaders from his capital 
 or die in its defense." "Ah !" replied the mon 
 arch, "the gods have declared themselves against 
 us !" Still another embassy was prepared, with 
 his nephew, lord of Tezcuco, at its head, to offer 
 a welcome to the unwelcome visitors. 
 
 Cortes approached through fertile fields, plan 
 tations, and maguey- vineyards till they reached 
 Lake Chalco. . There they found a large town 
 built in the water on piles, with canals instead 
 of streets, full of movement and animation. "The 
 Spaniards were particularly struck with the style 
 and commodious structure of the houses, chiefly 
 of stone, and with the general aspect of wealth 
 and even elegance which prevailed." 
 
 Next morning the King of Tezcuco came to 
 visit Cortes, in a palanquin richly decorated with 
 plates of gold and precious stones, under a canopy 
 of green plumes. He was accompanied by a nu 
 merous suite. Advancing with the Mexican salu 
 tation, he said he had been commanded by Mon- 
 tezuma to welcome him to the capital, at the same 
 time offering three splendid pearls as a present. 
 Cortes "in return threw over the young king s 
 neck a chain of cut glass, which, where glass 
 was as rare as diamonds, might be admitted to 
 have a value as real as the latter." 
 
 The army of Cortes next marched along the 
 southern side of Lake Chalco, "through noble 
 woods and by orchards glowing with autumnal 
 fruits, of unknown names, but rich and tempting 
 hues." They also passed "through cultivated 
 fields waving with the yellow harvest, and irri- 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 137 
 
 gated by canals introduced from the neighboring 
 lake, the whole showing a careful and economical 
 husbandry, essential to the maintenance of a 
 crowded population." A remarkable public work 
 next engaged the attention of the Spaniards, viz., 
 a solid causeway of stone and lime running di 
 rectly through the lake, in some places so wide 
 that eight horsemen could ride on it abreast. Its 
 length is some four or five miles. Marching 
 along this causeway, they saw other wonders ; 
 numbers of the natives darting in all directions in 
 their skiffs, curious to watch the strangers march 
 ing, and some of them bearing the products of 
 the country to the neighboring cities. They were 
 amazed also by the sight of the floating gardens, 
 teeming with flowers and vegetables, and moving 
 like rafts over the waters. All round the mar 
 gin, and occasionally far in the lake, they beheld 
 little towns and villages, w r hich, half concealed 
 by the foliage, and gathered in white clusters 
 round the shore, "looked in the distance like com 
 panies of white swans riding quietly on the 
 waves." About the middle of this lake was a 
 town, to which the Spaniards gave the name of 
 Venezuela* (i. e., "Little Venice"). From its 
 situation and the style of the buildings, Cortes 
 called it the most beautiful town that he had yet 
 seen in New Spain. 
 
 After crossing the isthmus which separates 
 that lake from Lake Tezcuco they were now at 
 Iztapalapan, a royal residence in charge of the 
 Emperor s brother. Here a ceremonious recep- 
 
 * Not to be confounded with the Indian village on the shore 
 of Lake Maracaibo, to which (with similar motive) Vespucci 
 had given that name now capital of a large republic. 
 
138 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 tion was given to Cortes and his staff, u a collation 
 being served in one of the great halls of the 
 palace. The excellence of the architecture here 
 excited the admiration of the general. The build 
 ings were of stone, and the spacious apartments 
 had roofs of odorous cedar-wood, while the walls 
 were tapestried with fine cotton stained with bril 
 liant colors. 
 
 "But the pride of Iztapalapan was its cele 
 brated gardens, covering an immense tract of 
 land and laid out in regular squares. The gar 
 dens were stocked with fruit-trees and with the 
 gaudy family of flowers which belonged to the 
 Mexican flora, scientifically arranged, and grow 
 ing luxuriant in the equable temperature of the 
 table-land. In one quarter was an aviary filled 
 with numerous kinds of birds remarkable in this 
 region both for brilliancy of plumage and for 
 song. But the most elaborate piece of work was 
 a huge reservoir of stone, filled to a considerable 
 height with water, well supplied with different 
 sorts of fish. This basin was 1,600 paces in cir 
 cumference, and surrounded by a walk." 
 
 Readers must remember that at that age no 
 beautiful gardens on a large scale were known in 
 any part of Europe. The first "garden of plants" 
 (to use the name afterward applied by the 
 French) is said to have been an Italian one, at 
 Padua, in 1545, a whole generation after the time 
 of the arrival of Cortes in Mexico. It was only 
 under Louis "Le Magnifique" that France cre 
 ated the Versailles Gardens, and not till the time 
 of George III and his tutor Bute could we boast 
 of the gardens at Kew, now admired by all the 
 world. The ancient Mexicans, therefore, under 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 139 
 
 their extinct civilization, had developed this taste 
 for the beautiful many ages before the most cul 
 tivated races in Europe. 
 
 Cortes took up his quarters at this residence 
 of Iztapalapan for the night, expecting to meet 
 Montezuma on the morrow. Mexico was now 
 distinctly full in view, looking "like a thing of 
 fairy creation," a city of enchantment. 
 
 There Aztlan stood upon the farther shore; 
 
 Amid the shade of trees its dwellings rose, 
 
 Their level roofs with turrets set around 
 
 And battlements all burnished white, which shone 
 
 Like silver in the sunshine. I beheld 
 
 The imperial city, her far-circling walls, 
 
 Her garden groves and stately palaces, 
 
 Her temples mountain size, her thousand roofs, 
 
 And when I saw her might and majesty 
 
 My mind misgave me then. 
 
 Cj i, 6. 
 
 That following day, November 8, 1519, should 
 be noted in every calendar, when the great cap 
 ital of the Western World admitted the conquer 
 ing general from the Eastern World. The in 
 vaders were now upon a larger causeway, which 
 stretched across the salt waters of Lake Tezcuco ; 
 and "had occasion more than ever to admire the 
 mechanical science of the Aztecs/ It was wide 
 enough throughout its whole extent for ten horse 
 men to ride abreast. 
 
 The Spaniards saw everywhere "evidence of a 
 crowded and thriving population, exceeding all 
 they had. yet seen." The water was darkened 
 by swarms of canoes filled with Indians ; and 
 here also were those air islands of flowers. Half 
 
140 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 a league from the capital they encountered a 
 solid work of stone, which traversed the road. It 
 was t\velve feet high, strengthened by towers at 
 the extremities, and in the center was a battle- 
 mented gateway, which opened a passage to the 
 troops. 
 
 Here they were met by several hundred Aztec 
 chiefs, who came out to announce the approach 
 of Montezuma, and to welcome the Spaniards to 
 his capital. They were dressed in the fanciful 
 gala costume of the country, with the cotton sash 
 around their loins, and a broad mantle of the 
 same material, or of the brilliant feather em 
 broidery, flowing gracefully down their shoul 
 ders. On their necks and arms they displayed 
 collars and bracelets of turquoise mosaic, with 
 which delicate plumage was curiously mingled, 
 while their ears, under lips, and occasionally their 
 noses were garnished with pendants formed of 
 precious stones, or crescents of fine gold. 
 
 After all the caziques had performed the same 
 formal salutation separately, there was no further 
 delay till they reached a bridge near the gates of 
 the capital. Soon after "they beheld the glitter 
 ing retinue of the Emperor emerging from the 
 great street leading through the heart of the city. 
 Amid a crowd of Indian nobles preceded by three 
 officers of state bearing golden wands, they saw 
 the royal palanquin blazing with burnished gold. 
 It was borne on the shoulders of nobles, and over 
 it a canopy of gaudy feather-work, covered with 
 jewels and fringed with silver, was supported by 
 four attendants of the same rank." 
 
 At a certain distance from the Spaniards "the 
 train halted, and Montezuma, descending from 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 141 
 
 the litter, came forward, leaning on the arms of 
 the lords of Tezcuco and Iztapalapan" the Em 
 peror s nephew and brother, already mentioned. 
 "As the monarch advanced, his subjects, who 
 lined the sides of the causeway, bent forward, with 
 their eyes fastened on the ground, as he passed/ 
 
 Montezuma wore the ample square cloak com 
 mon to the Mexicans, but of the finest cotton 
 sprinkled with pearls and precious stones ; his 
 sandals were similarly sprinkled, and had soles of 
 solid gold. His only head ornament was a bunch 
 of feathers of the royal green color. A man about 
 forty ; tall and rather thin ; black hair, cut rather 
 short for a person of rank ; dignified in his move 
 ments ; his features wearing an expression of be 
 nignity not to be expected from his character. 
 
 After dismounting from horseback, Cortes ad 
 vanced to meet Montezuma, who received him 
 with princely courtesy, while Cortes responded by 
 profound expressions of respect, with thanks for 
 his experience of the Emperor s munificence. He 
 then hung round Montezuma s neck a sparkling 
 chain of colored crystal, accompanying this with 
 a movement as if to embrace him, when he was 
 restrained by the two Aztec lords, shocked at the 
 menaced profanation of the sacred person of their 
 monarch and master. 
 
 Montezuma appointed his brother to conduct 
 the Spaniards to their residence in the capital, and 
 was again carried through the adoring crowds in 
 his litter. "The Spaniards quickly followed, and 
 with colors flying and music playing soon made 
 their entrance into the southern quarter." 
 
 On entering "they found fresh cause for ad 
 miration in the grandeur of the city and the 
 
I4 2 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 superior style of its architecture. The great 
 avenue through which they were now marching 
 was lined with the houses of the nobles, who were 
 encouraged by the Emperor to make the capital 
 their residence. The flat roofs were protected by 
 stone parapets, so that every house was a fortress. 
 Sometimes these roofs seemed parterres of flow 
 ers . . . broad terraced gardens laid out be 
 tween the buildings. Occasionally a great square 
 intervened surrounded by its porticoes of stone 
 and stucco ; or a pyramidal temple reared its 
 colossal bulk crowned with its tapering sanctu 
 aries, and altars blazing with unextinguishable 
 fires. But what most impressed the Spaniards 
 was the throngs of people who swarmed through 
 the streets and on the canals." 
 
 Probably, however, the spectacle of the Euro 
 pean army with their horses, their guns, bright 
 swords and helmets of steel, a metal to them un 
 known; their weird and mysterious music the 
 whole formed to the Aztec populace an inex 
 plicable wonder, combined with those foreigners 
 who had arrived from the distant East, "reveal 
 ing their celestial origin in their fair complex 
 ions/ Many of the Aztec citizens betrayed keen 
 hatred of the Tlascalans who marched with the 
 Spaniards in friendly alliance. 
 
 At length Cortes with his mixed army halted 
 near the center of the city in a great open space, 
 "where rose the huge pyramidal pile dedicated 
 to the patron war-god of the Aztecs, second only 
 to the temple of Cholula in size as well as sanc 
 tity." The present famous cathedral of modern 
 Mexico is built on part of the same site. 
 
 A palace built opposite the west side of the 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 143 
 
 great temple was assigned to Cortes. It was ex 
 tensive enough to accommodate the whole of the 
 army of Cortes. Montezuma paid him a visit 
 there, having a long conversation through the 
 indispensable assistance of Marina, the slave in 
 terpreter. "That evening the Spaniards cele 
 brated their arrival in the Mexican capital by a 
 general discharge of artillery. The thunders of 
 the ordnance reverberating among the buildings 
 and shaking them to their foundations, the stench 
 of the sulfureous vapor reminding the inhab 
 itants of the explosions of the great volcano 
 (Popocatepetl) filled the hearts of the supersti 
 tious Aztecs with dismay." 
 
 Next day Cortes had gracious permission to 
 return the visit of the Emperor, and therefore 
 proceeded to wait upon him at the royal palace, 
 dressed in his richest suit of clothes. The Spanish 
 general felt the importance- of the occasion and 
 resolved to exercise all his eloquence and power 
 of argument in attempting the "conversion" of 
 Montezuma to the Christian faith. 
 
 For this purpose, with the assistance of the 
 faithful Marina, Cortes engaged the Emperor in 
 a theological discussion ; explaining the creation 
 of .the world* as taught in the Jewish Scriptures ; 
 the fall of man from his first happy and holy con 
 dition by the temptation of Satan ; the mysterious 
 redemption of the human race by the incarnation 
 and atonement of the Son of God Himself. "He 
 assured Montezuma that the idols worshiped in 
 Mexico were Satan under different forms. A 
 sufficient proof of this was the bloody sacrifices 
 they imposed, which he contrasted with the pure 
 and s.imple rite of the mass. It was to snatch the 
 
144 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Emperor s soul and the souls of his people from 
 the flames of eternal fire that the Christians had 
 come to this land." 
 
 Montezuma replied that the God of the Span 
 iards must be a good being, and "my gods also 
 are good to me ; there was no need to further dis 
 course on the matter." If he had "resisted their 
 visit to his capital, it was because he had heard 
 such accounts of their cruelties that they sent 
 the lightning to consume his people, or crushed 
 them to pieces under the hard feet of the ferocious 
 animals on which they rode.. He was now con 
 vinced that these were idle tales ; that the Span 
 iards were kind and generous in their nature." 
 He concluded by admitting the superiority of the 
 sovereign of Cortes beyond the seas. "Your sov 
 ereign is the rightful lord of all: I rule in his 
 name." 
 
 The rough Spanish cavaliers were touched by 
 the kindness and affability of Montezuma. As 
 they passed him, says Diaz, in his History, they 
 made him the most profound obeisance, hat in 
 hand; and on the way home could discourse of 
 nothing but the gentle breeding and courtesy of 
 the Indian monarch. 
 
 MONTEZUMA S CAPITAL 
 
 Cortes and his army being now fairly domes 
 ticated in Mexico, and the Emperor having ap 
 parently become reconciled to the presence of his 
 formidable guests, we may pause to consider the 
 surroundings. 
 
 The present capital occupies the site of Tenoch- 
 titlan, but many changes have occurred in the 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 145 
 
 intervening four centuries. First of all, the salt 
 waters of the great lake have entirely shrunk 
 away, leaving modern Mexico high and dry, a 
 league away from the waters that Cortes saw 
 flowing in ample canals through all the streets. 
 Formerly the houses stood on elevated piles and 
 were independent of the floods which rose in Lake 
 Tezcuco by the overflowing of other lakes on a 
 higher level. But when the foundations were on 
 solid ground it became necessary to provide 
 against the accumulated volume of water by ex 
 cavating a tunnel to drain off the flood. This 
 was constructed about one hundred years after 
 the invasion of the Spaniards, and has been de 
 scribed by Humboldt as "one of the most stu 
 pendous hydraulic works in existence." 
 
 The appearance of the lake and suburbs of the 
 capital have long lost much of the attractive ap 
 pearance they had at the time of the Spanish 
 visit ; but the town itself is still the most brilliant 
 city in Spanish America, surmounted by a cathe 
 dral, which forms "the most sumptuous house of 
 worship in the New World." 
 
 The great causeway already described as lead 
 ing north from the royal city of Iztapalapan, had 
 another to the north of the capital, which might 
 be called its continuation. The third causeway, 
 leading west to the town Tacuba from the island 
 city, will be noticed presently as the scene of the 
 Spaniards retreat. 
 
 There were excellent police regulations for 
 health and cleanliness. Water supplied by 
 earthen pipes was from a hill about two miles 
 distant. Besides the palaces and temples there 
 were several important buildings : an armory 
 
146 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 filled with weapons and military dresses ; a gran 
 ary ; various warehouses ; an immense aviary, 
 with "birds of splendid plumage assembled from 
 all parts of the empire the scarlet cardinal, the 
 golden pheasant, the endless parrot tribe, and that 
 miniature miracle of nature, the humming-bird, 
 which delights to revel among the honeysuckle 
 bowers of. Mexico." The birds of prey had a 
 separate building. The menagerie adjoining the 
 aviary showed wild animals from the mountain 
 forests, as well as creatures from the remote 
 swamps of the hot lands by the seashore. The 
 serpents "were confined in long cages lined with 
 down or feathers, or in troughs of mud and 
 water." 
 
 Wishing to visit the great Mexican temple, 
 Cortes, with his cavalry and most of his infantry, 
 followed the caziques whom Montezuma had po 
 litely sent as guides. 
 
 On their way to the central square the Span 
 iards "were struck with the appearance of the 
 inhabitants, and their great superiority in the 
 style and quality of their dress over the people of 
 the lower countries. The women, as in other 
 parts of the country, seemed to go about as freely 
 as the. men. They wore several skirts or petti 
 coats of different lengths, with highly orna 
 mented borders, and sometimes over them loose- 
 flowing robes, which reached to the ankles. No 
 veils were worn here as in some other parts of 
 Anahuac. The Aztec women had their faces ex 
 posed ; and their dark raven tresses floated lux 
 uriantly over their shoulders, revealing features 
 which, although of a dusky or rather cinnamon 
 hue, were not unfrequently pleasing, while 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 147 
 
 touched with the serious, even sad expression 
 characteristic of the national physiognomy." 
 
 When near the great market "the Spaniards 
 were astonished at the throng of people pressing 
 toward it, and on entering the place their sur 
 prise was still further heightened by the sight of 
 the multitudes assembled there, and the dimen 
 sions of the enclosure, twice as large, says one 
 Spanish observer, as the celebrated square of 
 Salamanca. Here were traders from all parts; 
 the goldsmiths from Azcapozalco, the potters and 
 jewelers of Cholula, the painters of Tezcuco, the 
 stone-cutters, hunters, fishermen, fruiterers, mat 
 and chair makers, florists, etc. The pottery de 
 partment was a large one ; so were the armories 
 for implements of war; razors and mirrors 
 booths for apothecaries with drugs, roots, and 
 medical preparations. In other places again, 
 blank-books or maps for the hieroglyphics or 
 pictographs were to be seen folded together like 
 fans. Animals both wild and tame were offered 
 for sale, and near them, perhaps, a gang of slaves 
 with collars round their necks. One of the most 
 attractive features of the market was the display 
 of provisions : meats of all kinds, domestic poul 
 try, game from the neighboring mountains, fish 
 from the lakes and streams, fruits in all the de 
 licious abundance of these temperate regions, 
 green vegetables, and the unfailing maize." 
 
 This market, like hundreds of smaller ones, 
 was of course held every fifth day the week of 
 the ancient Mexicans being one-fourth of the 
 twenty days which constituted the Aztec month. 
 This great market was comparable to "the period 
 ical fairs in Europe, not as they now exist, but as 
 
148 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 they existed in the middle ages," when from the 
 difficulties of intercommunication they served as 
 the great central marts for commercial inter 
 course, exercising a most important and salutary 
 influence on the community. 
 
 One of the Spaniards in the party accompany 
 ing Cortes was the historian Diaz, and his testi 
 mony is remarkable : 
 
 There were among us soldiers who had been in many 
 parts of the world, Constantinople and Rome, and through 
 all Italy, and who said that a market-place so large, so well 
 ordered and regulated, and so filled with people, they had 
 never seen. 
 
 Proceeding next to the great tcocalli or Aztec 
 temple, covering the site of the modern cathedral 
 with part of the market-place and some adjoining 
 streets, they found it in the midst of a great open 
 space, surrounded by a high stone wall, orna 
 mented on the outside by figures of serpents 
 raised in relief, and pierced by huge battlemented 
 gateways opening on the four principal streets of 
 the capital. The tcocalli itself was a solid pyram 
 idal structure of earth and pebbles, coated on 
 the outside with hewn stones, the sides facing the 
 cardinal points. It was divided into five stories, 
 each of smaller dimensions than that immediately 
 below. The ascent was by a flight of steps on 
 the outside, which reached to the narrow terrace 
 at the bottom of the second story, passing quite 
 round the building, when a second stairway con 
 ducted to a similar landing at the base of the 
 third. Thus the visitor was obliged to pass 
 round the whole edifice four times in order to 
 reach the top. This had a most imposing effect 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 149 
 
 in the religious ceremonials, when the pompous 
 procession of priests with their wild minstrelsy 
 came sweeping round the huge sides of the pyra 
 mid, as they rose higher and higher toward the 
 summit in full view of the populace assembled in 
 their thousands. 
 
 Cortes marched up the steps at the head of his 
 men, and found at the summit "a vast area paved 
 with broad flat stones. The first object that met 
 their view was a large block of jasper, the pecul 
 iar shape of which showed it was the stone on 
 which the bodies of the unhappy victims were 
 stretched for sacrifice. Its convex surface, by 
 raising the breast, enabled the priest to perform 
 more easily his diabolical task of removing the 
 heart. At the other end of the area were two 
 towers or sanctuaries, consisting of three stories, 
 the lower one of stone, the two upper of wood 
 elaborately carved. In the lower division stood 
 the images of their gods ; the apartments above 
 were filled with utensils for their religious serv 
 ices, and with the ashes of some of their Aztec 
 princes who had fancied this airy sepulcher. Be 
 fore each sanctuary stood an altar, with that un 
 dying fire upon it, the extinction of which boded 
 as much evil to the empire as that of the Vestal 
 flame would have done in ancient Rome. Here 
 also was the huge cylindrical drum made of ser 
 pents skins, and struck only on extraordinary oc 
 casions, when it sent forth a melancholy, weird 
 sound, that might be heard for miles" over the 
 country, indicating fierce anger of deity against 
 the enemies of Mexico. 
 
 As Cortes reached the summit he was met by 
 the Emperor himself attended by the high priest. 
 
150 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Taking the general by the hand, Montezuma 
 pointed out the chief localities in the wide pros 
 pect which their position commanded, including 
 not only the capital, "bathed on all sides by the 
 salt floods of the Tezcuco, and in the distance the 
 clear fresh waters of Lake Chalco," but the whole 
 of the Valley of Mexico to the base of the cir 
 cular range of mountains, and the wreaths of 
 vapor rolling up from the hoary head of Popo 
 catepetl. 
 
 Cortes was allowed "to behold the shrines of 
 the gods. They found themselves in a spacious 
 apartment, with sculptures on the walls, repre 
 senting the Mexican calendar, or the priestly 
 ritual. Before the altar in this sanctuary stood 
 the colossal image of Huitzilopochtli, the tutelary 
 deity and \var-god of the Aztecs. His counte 
 nance was distorted into hideous lineaments of 
 symbolical import. The huge folds of a serpent, 
 consisting of pearls and precious stones, were 
 coiled round his waist, and the same rich mate 
 rials were profusely sprinkled over his person. 
 On his left foot were the delicate feathers of the 
 humming-bird, which gave its name to the dread 
 deity. The most conspicuous ornament was a 
 chain of gold and silver hearts alternate, sus 
 pended round his neck, emblematical of the sacri 
 fice in which he most delighted. A more un- . 
 equivocal evidence of this was afforded by three 
 human hearts that now lay smoking on the altar 
 before him. 
 
 "The adjoining sanctuary was dedicated to a 
 milder deity. This was Tezcatlipoca, who created 
 the world, next in honor to that invisible being 
 the Supreme God, who was represented by no 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 151 
 
 image, and confined by no temple. He was rep 
 resented as a young man, and his image of pol 
 ished black stone was richly garnished with gold 
 plates and ornaments. But the homage to this 
 god was not always of a more refined or merci 
 ful character than that paid to his carnivorous 
 brother." 
 
 According to Diaz, whom we have already 
 quoted, the stench of human gore in both those 
 chapels was more intolerable than that of all the 
 slaughter-houses in Castile. Glad to escape into 
 the open air, Cortes expressed wonder that a 
 great and wise prince like Montezuma could have 
 faith "in such evil spirits as these idols, the repre 
 sentatives of the devil ! Permit us to erect here 
 the true cross, and place the images of the Blessed 
 Virgin and her Son in these sanctuaries ; you will 
 soon see how your false gods will shrink before 
 them !" 
 
 This extraordinary speech of the general 
 shocked Montezuma, who, in reproof, said : "Had 
 I thought you would have offered this outrage to 
 the gods of the Aztecs, I would not have admitted 
 you into their presence." 
 
 Cortes, as a general, had some of the great 
 qualities of Napoleon, but he also resembled him 
 occasionally in a singular lack of delicacy and 
 good taste. We do not, however, find that he ever 
 showed such mean malignity as the French gen 
 eral did when persecuting Madame de Stael, 
 because in her Germany she had omitted to men 
 tion his campaigns and administration. 
 
 Within the same enclosure, Cortes and his 
 companions visited a temple dedicated to Quet- 
 zalcoatl, a god referred to already. Other build- 
 
I5 2 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 ings served as seminaries for the instruction of 
 youth of both sexes ; and according to the Spanish 
 accounts of the teaching and management of 
 these institutions there was kk the greatest care for 
 morals and the most blameless deportment." 
 
 SEIZURE OF MONTEZUMA 
 
 After being guest of the Mexican Emperor for 
 a week, Cortes resolved to carry out a most 
 daring and unprecedented scheme a purely 
 "Napoleonic movement," such as could scarcely 
 have entered the brain of any general ancient or 
 modern. He argued with himself that a quarrel 
 might at any moment break out between his men 
 and the citizens ; the Spaniards again could not 
 remain long quiet unless actively employed ; and, 
 thirdly, there was still greater danger with the 
 Tlascalans, "a fierce race now in daily contact 
 with a nation that regards them with loathing 
 and detestation." Lastly, the Governor of Cuba, 
 already grossly offended with Cortes, might at 
 any moment send after him a sufficient army to 
 wrest from him the glory of conquest. Cortes 
 therefore formed the daring resolve to seize Mon- 
 tezuma in his palace and carry him as a prisoner 
 to the Spanish quarters. He hoped thus to have 
 in his own hands the supreme management of 
 affairs, and at the same time secure his own safety 
 with such a "sacred pledge" in keeping. 
 
 It was necessary to find a pretext for seizing 
 the hospitable Montezuma. News had already 
 come to Cortes, when at Cholula, that Escalante, 
 whom he had left in charge "of Vera Cruz, had 
 been defeated by the Aztecs in a pitched bat- 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA I S3 
 
 tie, and that the head of a Spaniard, then slain, 
 had been sent to the Emperor, after being shown 
 in triumph throughout some of th<e chief cities. 
 
 Cortes asked an audience from Montezuma, 
 and that being readily granted, he prepared for 
 his plot by having a large body of armed men 
 posted in the courtyard. Choosing five com 
 panions of tried courage, Cortes then entered the 
 palace, and after being graciously received, told 
 Montezuma that he knew of the treachery that 
 had taken place near the coast, and that the Em 
 peror was said to be the cause. 
 
 The Emperor said that such a charge could 
 only have been concocted by his enemies. He 
 agreed with the proposal of Cortes to summon the 
 Aztec chief who was accused of treachery to the 
 garrison at Vera Cruz ; and was then persuaded 
 to transfer his residence to the palace occupied 
 by the Spaniards. He was there received and 
 treated with ostentatious respect; but his people 
 observed that in front of the palace there was 
 constantly posted a patrol of sixty soldiers, with 
 another equally large in the rear. 
 
 When the Aztec chief arrived from the coast, 
 he and his sixteen Aztec companions were con 
 demned to be burned alive before the palace. 
 
 The next daring act of the Spanish general was 
 to order iron fetters to be fastened on Monte- 
 zuma s ankles. The great Emperor seemed 
 struck with stupor and spoke never a word. 
 Meanwhile the Aztec chiefs were executed in 
 the courtyard without interruption, the populace 
 imagining the sentence had been passed upon 
 them by Montezuma, and the victims submitting 
 to their fate without a murmur. 
 
154 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Cortes returning then to the room where Mon- 
 tezuma was imprisoned, unclasped the fetters and 
 said he was no\v at liberty to return to his own 
 palace. The Emperor, however, declined the 
 offer. 
 
 The instinctive sense of human sympathy must 
 have frequently been not only repressed but ex 
 tinguished by all the great conquerine generals 
 who have crushed nations under foot. Besides 
 those of prehistoric tfmes in Asia and Europe, we 
 have examples in Alexander the Greek, Julius 
 Caesar the Roman, Cortes and Pizarro the Span 
 iards, Frederick the Prussian, and Napoleon the 
 Corsican. 
 
 The great French general consciously aimed at 
 dramatic effect in his exploits, but how paltry his 
 seizing the Due d Enghien at dead of night by 
 a troop of soldiers, or his coercing the King of 
 Spain to resign his sovereignty after inducing 
 him to cross the border into France. In the un 
 paralleled case of Cortes, a powerful emperor is 
 seized by a few strangers at noonday and carried 
 off a prisoner without opposition or bloodshed. 
 So extraordinary a transaction, says Robertson, 
 would appear "extravagant beyond the bounds of 
 probability" were it not that all the circumstances 
 are "authenticated by the most unquestionable 
 evidence." 
 
 The nephew of Montezuma, Cakama, the lord 
 of Tezcuco, had been closely watching all the mo 
 tions of the Spaniards. He "beheld with indig 
 nation and contempt the abject condition of his 
 uncle ; and now set about forming a league with 
 several of the neighboring caziques to break the 
 detested yoke of the Spaniards." News of this 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 155 
 
 league reached the ears of Cortes, and arresting 
 him with the permission of Montezuma, he de 
 posed him, and appointed a younger brother in his 
 place. The other caziques were seized, each in 
 his own city, and brought to Mexico, where 
 Cortes placed them in strict confinement along 
 with Cakama, 
 
 The next step taken by Cortes was to demand 
 from Montezuma an acknowledgment of the su 
 premacy of the Spanish Emperor. The Aztec 
 monarch and chief caziques easily granted this; 
 and even agreed that a gratuity should be sent by 
 each of them as proof of loyalty. Collectors were 
 sent out, and "in a few weeks most of them re 
 turned, bringing back large quantities of gold 
 and silver plate, rich stuffs, etc/ To this Mon 
 tezuma added a huge hoard, the treasures of his 
 father. When brought into the quarters, the gold 
 alone was sufficient to make three great heaps. It 
 consisted partly of native grains, and partly of 
 bars ; but the greatest portion was in utensils, and 
 various kinds of ornaments and curious toys, to 
 gether with imitations of birds, insects, or flow 
 ers, executed with uncommon truth and delicacy. 
 There were also quantities of collars, bracelets, 
 wands, fans, and other trinkets, in which the gold 
 and feather-work were richly powdered with 
 pearls and precious stones. Montezuma expressed 
 regret that the treasure was no larger ; he had 
 diminished it," he said, "by his former gifts to 
 the white men." 
 
 The Spaniards gazed on this display of riches, 
 far exceeding all hitherto seen in the New World 
 though small compared with the quantity of 
 treasure found in Peru. The whole amount of 
 
156 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 this Mexican gift was about 1,417,000, accord 
 ing to Prescott, Dr. Robertson making it smaller. 
 
 It was no easy task to divide the spoil. A 
 fifth had to be deducted for the Crown, and an 
 equal share went to the general, besides a "large 
 sum to indemnify him and the Governor of Cuba 
 for the charges of the expedition and the loss of 
 the fleet. The garrison of Vera Cruz was also to 
 be provided for. The cavalry, musketeers, and 
 crossbowmen each received double pay." Thus 
 for each of the common soldiers there was only 
 100 gold pesos i. e., 29^X100 = 262 los. To 
 many this share seemed paltry, compared with 
 their expectations; and it required all the tact 
 and authority of Cortes to quell the grumbling. 
 
 There still remained one important object of 
 the Spanish invasion, an object which Cortes as 
 a good Catholic dared not overlook the conver 
 sion of the Aztec nation from heathenism. The 
 bloody ritual of the tcocallis was still observed in 
 every city. Cortes waited on Montezuma, urging 
 a request that the great temple be assigned for 
 public worship according to the Christian rites. 
 
 Montezuma was evidently much alarmed, de 
 claring that his people would never allow such a 
 profanation, but at last, after consulting the priest, 
 agreed that one of the sanctuaries on the sum 
 mit of the temple should be granted to the Chris 
 tians as a place of worship. 
 
 An altar was raised, surmounted by a crucifix 
 and the image of the Virgin. The whole army 
 ascended the steps in solemn procession and 
 listened with silent reverence to the service of 
 the mass. In conclusion, "as the beautiful Te 
 Deum rose toward heaven, Cortes and his sol- 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 157 
 
 diers kneeling on the ground, with tears stream 
 ing from their eyes, poured forth their gratitude 
 to the Almighty for this glorious triumph of the 
 cross." Such a union of heathenism and Chris 
 tianity was too unnatural to continue. 
 
 A few days later the Emperor sent for Cortes 
 and earnestly advised him to leave the country 
 at once. Cortes replied that ships were neces 
 sary. Montezuma agreed to supply timber and 
 workmen, and in a short time the construction of 
 several ships was begun at Vera Cruz on the sea- 
 coast, while in the capital the garrison kept itself 
 ready by day and by night for a hostile attack. 
 Only six months had elapsed since the arrival of 
 the Spaniards in the capital, 1519, and now the 
 army was in more uncomfortable circumstances 
 than ever. 
 
 Meanwhile, while Cortes had been reducing 
 Mexico and humbling the unfortunate Monte 
 zuma, the Governor of Cuba had complained to 
 the court of Spain, but without success. Charles 
 V, since his election to the imperial crown of 
 Germany, had neglected the affairs of Spain ; and 
 when the envoys from Vera Cruz waited upon 
 him, little came of the conference except the 
 astonishment of the court at the quantity of 
 gold, and the beautiful workmanship of the orna 
 ments and the rich colors of the Mexican feather- 
 work. The opposition of the Bishop of Burgos 
 thwarted the conqueror of Mexico, as he had al 
 ready successfully opposed the schemes of the 
 "Great Admiral" and his son Diego Columbus. 
 We shall presently see how this influential eccle 
 siastic was able to thwart Balboa when governor 
 of Darien. 
 
158 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Velasquez was now determined to wreak his 
 revenge upon Cortes without waiting longer for 
 assistance from Spain. He prepared an expedi 
 tion of eighteen ships with eighty horsemen, 800 
 infantry, 120 crossbowmen, and twelve pieces of 
 artillery.. To command these Velasquez chose a 
 hidalgo named Narvaez, who had assisted for 
 merly in subduing Cuba and Hispaniola. The 
 personal appearance of Narvaez, as given by 
 Diaz, is worth quoting: 
 
 He was tall, stout-limbed, with a large head and red 
 beard, an agreeable presence, a voice deep and sonorous, 
 as if it rose from a cavern. He was a good horseman and 
 valiant. 
 
 Meanwhile Cortes persuaded Montezuma that 
 some friends from Spain had arrived at Vera 
 Cruz, and therefore got permission to leave him 
 and the capital in charge of Alvarado and a small 
 garrison. Montezuma, in his royal litter, borne 
 on the shoulders of his Aztec nobles, accom 
 panied the Spanish general to the southern cause 
 way. 
 
 When Cortes was within fifteen leagues dis 
 tance of Zempoalla, where Narvaez was en 
 camped, the latter sent a message that if his au 
 thority were acknowledged he would supply ships 
 to Cortes and his army so that all who wished 
 might freely leave the country with all their prop 
 erty. 
 
 Cortes, however, with his usual astuteness, re 
 plied : "If Narvaez bears a royal commission I 
 will readily submit to him. But he has produced 
 none. He is a deputy of my rival, Velasquez. 
 For myself, I am a servant of the King; I have 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 159 
 
 conquered the country for him ; and for him I 
 and my brave followers will defend it to the last 
 drop of our blood. If we fall it will be glory 
 enough to have perished in the discharge of our 
 duty." 
 
 Narvaez and his army were meantime spend 
 ing their time frivolously ; and when the actual 
 attack was begun in the dead of night, under a 
 pouring rain-storm, it appeared that only two sen 
 tinels were on guard. Narvaez, badly wounded, 
 was taken prisoner on the top of a tcocalli; and 
 in a very short time his army was glad to capitu 
 late. The horse-soldiers whom Narvaez had sent 
 to waylay one of the roads to Zempoalla, rode in 
 soon after to tender their submission. The vic 
 torious general, seated in a chair of state, with a 
 richly embroidered Mexican mantle on his shoul 
 ders, received his congratulations from the officers 
 and soldiers of both armies. Narvaez and sev 
 eral others were led in chains. 
 
 Cortes not only defeated Narvaez, but, after 
 the battle, enlisted under his standard the Span 
 ish soldiers who had been sent to attack him 
 reminding one of the "magnetism" of Hannibal 
 or Napoleon, and the consequent enthusiasm 
 caused by mere presence, looks, and words. 
 
 Before the rejoicings were finished, however, 
 tidings were brought to Cortes from the Mexican 
 capital that the whole city was in a state of re 
 volt against Alvarado. On his march back to the 
 great plateau Cortes found the inhabitants of 
 Tlascala still friendly and willing to assist as 
 allies in the struggle against their ancient foes, 
 the Mexicans. On reaching the camp of the Span 
 iards in Mexico, Cortes found that Alvarado had 
 
160 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 provoked the insurrection by a massacre of the 
 Aztec populace. 
 
 ^ Having entered the precincts with his army, 
 Cortes at once made anxious preparations for the 
 siege which was threatened by the Aztecs, now 
 assembling in thousands. 
 
 As the assailants approached "they set up a 
 hideous yell, or rather that shrill whistle used in 
 fight by the nations of Anahuac," accompanied by 
 the sound of shell and atabal and their other rude 
 instruments of wild music. This was followed 
 by a tempest of missiles, stones, darts, and arrows. 
 The Spaniards waited until the foremost column 
 had arrived within distance, when a general dis 
 charge of artillery and muskets swept the ranks 
 of the assailants. Never till now had the Mexi 
 cans witnessed the murderous power of these 
 formidable engines. At first they stood aghast, 
 but soon rallying, they rushed forward over the 
 prostrate bodies of their comrades. 
 
 Pressing on, some of them tried to scale the 
 parapet, while others tried to force a breach in it. 
 When the parapet proved too strong they shot 
 burning arrows upon the wooden outworks. 
 
 Next day there were continually fresh supplies 
 of warriors added to the forces of the assailants, 
 so that the clanger of the situation was greatly 
 increased. Diaz, an onlooker, thus wrote: 
 
 The Mexicans fought with such ferocity that if we had 
 been assisted by 10,000 Hectors and as many Orlandos, 
 we should have made no impression on them There were 
 several of our troops who had served in the Italian wars, 
 but neither there nor in the battles with the Turks had they 
 ever seen anything like the desperation shown by these 
 Indians. 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA l6l 
 
 Cortex at last drew off his men and sounded a 
 retreat, taking refuge in the fortress. The Mexi 
 cans encamped round it, and during the night in 
 sulted the besieged, shouting, "The gods have at 
 last delivered you into our hands : the stone of 
 sacrifice is ready : the knives are sharpened." 
 
 Cortes now felt that he had not fully under 
 stood the character of the Mexicans. The pa 
 tience and submission formerly shown in defer 
 ence to the injured Montezuma was now replaced 
 by concentrated arrogance and ferocity. The 
 Spanish general even stooped to request the inter 
 position of the Aztec Emperor ; and, at last, when 
 assured that the foreigners would leave his coun 
 try if a way were opened through the Mexican 
 army he agreed to use his influence. For this 
 purpose 
 
 he put on his imperial robes; his mantle of white and blue 
 flowed over his shoulders, held together by its rich clasp of 
 the green chalchivitl. The same precious gem, with emer 
 alds of uncommon size, set in gold, profusely ornamented 
 other parts of his dress. His feet were shod with the golden 
 sandals, and his brows covered with the Mexican diadem, 
 resembling in form the pontifical tiara. Thus attired and 
 surrounded by a guard of Spaniards, and several Aztec 
 nobles, and preceded by the golden wand, the symbol of 
 sovereignty, the Indian monarch ascended the central 
 turret of the palace. 
 
 At the sight of Montezuma all the Mexican 
 army became silent, partly, no doubt, from curi 
 osity. He assured them that he was no prisoner ; 
 that the strangers were his friends, and would 
 leave Mexico of their own accord as soon as a 
 way was opened. 
 
162 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 To call himself a friend of the hateful Span 
 iards was a fatal argument. Instead of respecting 
 their monarch, though in his official robes, the 
 populace howled angry curses at him as a de 
 generate Aztec, a coward, no longer a warrior or 
 even a man ! 
 
 A cloud of missiles was hurled at Montezuma, 
 and he was struck to the ground by the blow of 
 a stone on his head. The unfortunate monarch 
 only survived his wounds for a few days, disdain 
 ing to take any nourishment, or to receive advice 
 from the Spanish priests. 
 
 Meanwhile, Cortes and his army met with an 
 unexpected danger. A large body of the Indian 
 warriors had taken possession of the great tem 
 ple, at a short distance from the Spanish quar 
 ters. From this commanding position they kept 
 shooting a deadly flight of arrows on the Span 
 iards. Cortes sent his chamberlain, Escobar, with 
 a body of men to storm the temple, but, after 
 three efforts, the party had to relinquish the at 
 tempt. Cortes himself then led a storming party, 
 and after some determined fighting reached the 
 platform at the top of the temple where the two 
 sanctuaries of the Aztec deities stood. This large 
 area was now the scene of a desperate battle, 
 fought in sight of the whole capital as well as of 
 the Spanish troops still remaining in the court 
 yard. 
 
 This struggle between such deadly enemies 
 caused dreadful carnage on both sides : 
 
 The edge of the area was unprotected by parapet or bat 
 tlement; and the combatants, as they struggled in mortal 
 agony, were sometimes seen to roll over the sheer sides of 
 
CORTES AND MONTEZUMA 163 
 
 the precipice together. Cortes himself had a narrow escape 
 from this dreadful fate. . . . The number of the enemy 
 was double that of the Christians; but the invulnerable 
 armor of the Spaniard, his sword of matchless temper, and 
 his skill in the use of it, gave him advantages which far out 
 weighed the odds of physical strength and numbers. 
 
 This unparalleled scene of bloodshed lasted for 
 three hours. Of the Mexicans "two or three 
 priests only survived to be led away in triumph" ; 
 yet the loss of the Spaniards was serious enough, 
 amounting to forty-five of their best men. Nearly 
 all the others were wounded, some seriously. 
 
 After dragging the uncouth monster, Huitzilo- 
 pochtli, from his sanctuary, the assailants hurled 
 the repulsive image down the steps of the temple, 
 and then set fire to the building. The same 
 evening they burned a large part of the town. 
 
 Cortes now resolved upon a night retreat from 
 the capital ; but when marching along one of the 
 causeways they were attacked by the Mexicans in 
 such numbers that, when morning dawned, the 
 shattered battalion was reduced to less than half 
 its number. In after years that disastrous retreat 
 was known to the Spanish chroniclers as Noche 
 Tristc, the "Night of Sorrows/ 
 
 After a hurried six days march before the 
 pursuers, Cortes gained a victory so signal that 
 an alliance was speedily formed with Tlascala 
 against Mexico. Cortes built twelve brigantines 
 at Vera Cruz in order to secure the command of 
 Lake Tescuco and thus attempt the reduction of 
 the Mexican capital. On his return to the great 
 lake he found that the throne was now occupied 
 by Guatimozin, a nephew of Montezuma. Using 
 their brigantines the Spanish soldiers now began 
 
1 64 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 the siege of Mexico "the most memorable event 
 in the conquest of America." It lasted seventy- 
 five days, during which the whole of the capital 
 was reduced to ruins. Guatimozin, the last of the 
 Aztec emperors, was condemned by the Spanish 
 general to be hanged on the charge of treason. 
 
 Cortes was now master of all Mexico. The 
 Spanish court and people were full of admiration 
 for his victories and the extent of his conquests ; 
 and Charles V appointed him "Captain-General 
 and Governor of New Spain/ On revisiting Eu 
 rope, the Emperor honored him with the order 
 of St. Jago and the title of marquis. Latterly, 
 however, after some failures in his exploring ex- 
 ditions, Cortes, on his return to Spain, found 
 himself treated with neglect. It was then, accord 
 ing to Voltaire s story, that when Charles asked 
 the courtiers, "Who is that man?" referring to 
 Cortes, the latter said aloud : "It is one, sire, that 
 has added more provinces to your dominions than 
 any other governor has added towns !" Cortes 
 died in his sixty-second year, December 2, 154?- 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 BALBOA AND THE ISTHMUS 
 
 IN the Spanish conquest of America there are 
 three great generals : Cortes, Balbao, and Pizarro. 
 The third may to many readers seem immeasur 
 ably superior as explorer and conqueror to the 
 second, but it must be remembered that Pizarro s 
 scheme of discovering and invading Peru was 
 precisely that which Balboa had already pre- 
 
BALBOA AND THE ISTHMUS 165 
 
 pared. Pizarro could afford to say, "Others have 
 labored, and I have merely entered into their 
 labors." 
 
 What, then, was the work done by Balboa, and 
 what prevented him from taking Peru? In 1510, 
 the year before the conquest of Cuba, Balboa was 
 glad to escape from Hispaniola, not to avoid the 
 Spanish cruelties, like Hatuey, the luckless ca- 
 zique, but to escape from his Spanish creditors. 
 So anxious was he to get on board that he con 
 cealed himself in a cask to avoid observation. 
 Balboa, however, had administrative qualities, 
 and after taking possession of the uncleared dis 
 trict of Darien in the name of the King of Spain, 
 he was appointed governor of the new province. 
 He built the town Santa Maria on the coast of 
 the Darien Gulf ; but so pestilential was the dis 
 trict (and still is) that the settlers were glad after 
 a short time to remove to the other side of the 
 isthmus. 
 
 It was by mere accident that Balboa first heard 
 of a great ocean beyond the mountains of Darien, 
 and of the enormous wealth of Peru, a country 
 hitherto unknown to Spain or Europe. As sev 
 eral soldiers were one day disputing about the 
 division of some gold-dust, an Indian cazique 
 called out : 
 
 "Why quarrel about such a trifle? I can show 
 you a region where the commonest pots and pans 
 are made of that metal/ 
 
 To the inquiries of Balboa and his companions, 
 the cazique replied that by traveling six days to 
 the south they should see another ocean, near 
 which lay the wealthy kingdom. 
 
 Resolving to cross the isthmus, notwithstand- 
 
1 66 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 ing a thousand formidable obstructions, Balboa 
 formed a party consisting of 190 veterans, accom 
 panied by 1 ,000 Indians, and several fierce dogs 
 trained to hunt the naked natives. Such were 
 the difficulties that the "six days journey" occu 
 pied twenty-five before the ridge of the isthmus 
 range was reached. 
 
 Balboa commanded his men to halt, and advanced alone 
 to the summit, that he might be the first who should enjoy 
 a spectacle which he had so long desired. As soon as he 
 beheld the sea stretching in endless prospect below him he 
 fell on his knees; ... his followers observing his trans 
 ports of joy rushed forward to join in his wonder, exulta 
 tion, and gratitude. 
 
 That was the moment, September 25, 1513, 
 immortalized in Keats s sonnet: 
 
 When with eagle eyes 
 He stared at the Pacific, and all his men 
 Looked at each other with a wild surmise, 
 Silent, upon a peak in Darien. 
 
 Balboa hurried down the western slope of the 
 isthmus range to take formal possession in the 
 name of the Spanish monarch. He found a fish 
 ing village there which had been named Panama 
 (i. e., "plenty fish") by the Indians, but had also 
 a reputation for the pearls found in its bay. 
 
 In his letter to Spain, Balboa said, to illustrate 
 the difficulties of the expedition, that of all the 
 190 men in his party there were never more than 
 eighty fit for service at one time. Notwithstand 
 ing the wonderful news of the discovery of the 
 "great southern ocean," as the Pacific was then 
 called, Ferdinand overlooked the great services 
 
BALBOA AND THE ISTHMUS 167 
 
 of Balboa, and appointed a new Governor of 
 Darien called Pedrarias, who instituted a judicial 
 inquiry into some previous transactions of Bal 
 boa, imposing a heavy fine as punishment. The 
 new governor committed other acts of great im 
 prudence, and at length Ferdinand felt that he 
 had only superseded the most active and experi 
 enced officer he had in the New World. To make 
 amends to Balboa, he was appointed "Lieutenant- 
 Governor of the Countries upon the South Sea," 
 with great privileges and authority. At the same 
 time Pedrarias was commanded to "support Bal 
 boa in all his operations, and to consult with him 
 concerning every measure which he himself pur 
 sued." 
 
 Balboa, in 1517, began his preparations for 
 entering the South Sea and conveying troops 
 to the country which he proposed to invade. 
 With four small brigantines and 300 chosen 
 soldiers (a force superior to that with which 
 Pizarro afterward undertook the same expedi 
 tion), he was on the point of sailing toward the 
 coasts of which they had such expectations, when 
 a message arrived from Pedrarias. Balboa being 
 unconscious of crime, agreed to delay the expedi 
 tion, and meet Pedrarias for conference. On 
 entering the palace Balboa was arrested and im 
 mediately tried on the charge of disloyalty to the 
 King and intention of revolt against the gov 
 ernor. He was speedily sentenced to death, al 
 though the accusation was so absurd that the 
 judges who pronounced the sentence "seconded 
 by the whole colony, interceded warmly for his 
 pardon." "The Spaniards beheld with astonish 
 ment and sorrow the public execution of a man 
 
1 68 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 whom they universally deemed more capable than 
 any who had borne command in America, of 
 forming and accomplishing great designs." This 
 gross injustice amounting to a public scandal was 
 accounted for by the malignant influence of the 
 Bishop of Burgos, in Spain, who was the orig 
 inal cause of Balboa being superseded as Gov 
 ernor of Darien. 
 
 The expedition designed by Balboa was now 
 relinquished ; but the removal of the colony soon 
 afterward to the Pacific side of the isthmus may 
 be considered a step toward the realization of an 
 exactly similar attempt by Pizzaro. 
 
 To some historical readers the word "Darien" 
 only recalls the bitter prejudice entertained 
 against William III, our "Dutch King," notwith 
 standing the special pleading of Lord Macaulay 
 and others. Some Scottish merchants had 
 adopted a scheme recommended by the most 
 reliable authorities * of that age, viz., the settle 
 ment of a half-commercial, half-military colony 
 on the Atlantic coast of the isthmus. Such a 
 company, in the words of Paterson, would be 
 masters of the "door of the seas," and the "key 
 of the universe." The East India Companies 
 both of England and Holland showed an envious 
 jealousy of the Scottish merchants, and therefore 
 no assistance was to be expected from the King, 
 although he had given his royal sanction to the 
 Scots Act of Parliament creating the company. 
 The Scottish people, however, zealously contin 
 ued the scheme. Some 1,200 nien "set sail from 
 
 * E.g., Paterson, founder of the Bank of England, Fletcher 
 of Saltoun, the Marquis of Tweeddale, then chief Minister of 
 Scotland, Sir John Dalrymple, etc. 
 
BALBOA AND THE ISTHMUS 169 
 
 Leith amid the blessings of many thousands of 
 their assembled countrymen. They reached the 
 Gulf of Darien in safety, and established them 
 selves on the coast in localities to which they gave 
 the names of New Caledonia and New St. An 
 drews." The Government of Spain (secretly in 
 stigated, it was believed, by the English King) 
 resolved to attack the embryo colony. The ship 
 wreck of the whole scheme soon followed, due 
 undoubtedly more to the jealousy of the English 
 merchants (who believed that any increase of 
 trade in Scotland or Ireland was a positive loss 
 to England) and the bad faith of our Dutch King, 
 than to all other causes whatever. Of the colony, 
 according to Dalrymple (ii, 103), not more than 
 thirty ever saw their own country again. 
 
 In 1526 a company of English merchants was 
 formed to trade with the West Indies and the 
 "Spanish Main," and commanded great success. 
 Other merchants did the same. Soon after the 
 Spanish court instituted a coast-guard to make 
 war upon these traders ; and as they had full 
 power to capture and slay all who did not bear 
 the King of Spain s commission, there were ter 
 rible tales told in Europe of mutilation, torture, 
 and revenge. The Windward Islands having 
 been gradually settled by French and English 
 adventurers, Frederick of Toledo was sent with a 
 large fleet to destroy those petty colonies. This 
 harsh treatment rendered the planters desperate, 
 and under the name of buccaneers,* they con 
 tinued "a retaliation so horribly savage [v. Notes 
 
 * Named from boucan, a kind of preserved meat, used by 
 those rovers. They had learned this peculiar art of preserving 
 from the native Caribs. 
 
1 70 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 to Rokeby] that the perusal makes the reader 
 shudder. From piracy at sea, they advanced to 
 making predatory descents on the Spanish terri 
 tories ; in which they displayed the same furious 
 and irresistible valor, the same thirst of spoil, 
 and the same brutal inhumanity to their cap 
 tives." The pride and presumption of Spain 
 were partly resisted by the English monarchs, but 
 not with real effect before the time of Cromwell, 
 strongest of all the rulers of Britain. Under his 
 government of the seas Spain was deprived of 
 the island of Jamaica ; and the buccaneers to their 
 disgust found that the flag of the great Protector 
 was a check against all piracy and injustice. 
 
 Under Charles II, however, the buccaneers re 
 sumed their conflict with the Spanish, and in 
 1670, Henry Morgan, with 1,500 English and 
 French ruffians resolved to cross the isthmus 
 like Balboa, to plunder the depositories of gold 
 and silver which lay in the city of Panama and 
 other places on the Pacific coast. Having stormed 
 a strong fortress at the mouth of the Chagres 
 River, they forced their way through the en 
 tangled forests for ten days, and after much 
 hardship reached Panama, to find it defended by 
 a regular army of twice their number. The 
 Spaniards, however, were beaten, and Morgan 
 thoroughly sacked and plundered the city, taking 
 captive all the chief citizens in order to extort 
 afterward large ransoms. 
 
 Ten years afterward the Isthmus of Darien 
 was crossed by Dampier, another celebrated buc 
 caneer, but his party was too small to attack 
 Panama. They seized some Spanish vessels in 
 the bay and plundered all the coast for some dis- 
 
BALBOA AND THE ISTHMUS I? I 
 
 tance. The following description by the bold 
 buccaneer is not without interest to those who 
 consider the present importance of the place : 
 
 Near the riverside stands New Panama, a very hand 
 some city, in a spacious bay of the same name, into which 
 disembogue many long and navigable rivers, some whereof 
 are not without gold; 1 besides that it is beautified by many 
 pleasant isles, the country about it affording a delightful 
 prospect to the sea. . . . The houses are chiefly of brick 
 and pretty lofty, especially the president s, the churches, 
 the monasteries, and other public structures, which make 
 the best show I have seen in the West Indies. 
 
 The present prosperity of Panama is due to 
 its large transit trade, which was recently esti 
 mated at 15,000,000 a year. The pearl-fisheries, 
 famous at the time of Balboa s visit, have now 
 little value. The narrowest breadth of the isth 
 mus being only thirty miles, there have naturally 
 been many engineering proposals to connect the 
 Pacific and Atlantic oceans by a canal. M. cle 
 Lesseps founded a French company- in 1881 for 
 the construction of a ship-canal with eight locks, 
 and over forty-six miles in length; but in 1889, 
 the excavations stopped after some 48^ millions 
 of cubic meters of earth and rock had been re 
 moved. Meanwhile a railway 47^ miles long 
 connects Colon on the Atlantic with Panama on 
 the Pacific. 
 
 The Mexican Isthmus of Tehuantepec, only 
 140 miles across, separates the Bay of Cam- 
 peachy from the Pacific, and failing the Panama 
 Canal some engineers were in favor of a ship- 
 railway for conveying large vessels bodily from 
 the Atlantic to the Pacific. The scheme met with 
 
I7 2 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 great favor in the United States, but has not yet 
 been carried out. 
 
 The third proposal for connecting the two 
 great oceans is probably the most feasible because 
 it follows the most deeply marked depression of 
 the isthmus. The Nicaraguan Ship-canal will, 
 if the scheme be carried out, pass from Greytown 
 on the Atlantic to Brito on the Pacific, about 170 
 miles apart, through the republic of Nicaragua, 
 which lies north of Panama and south of Guate 
 mala. One obvious advantage of this ship-canal 
 is that the great lake is utilized, affording already 
 about one-third of the waterway ; only twenty- 
 eight miles, in fact, being actual canal, and the 
 rest river, lake, and lagoon navigation. In the 
 latest specifications the engineers proposed to 
 dam up the river (San Juan) by a stone wall 
 seventy feet high and 1,900 feet long, thus rais 
 ing the water to a level of 106 feet above the sea. 
 Only three locks will be required to work the 
 Nicaraguan Ship-canal. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 EXTINCT CIVILIZATION OF PERU 
 
 (A) Peruvian Archeology 
 
 As the extinct civilization of the Incas of Peru 
 is the most important phase of development 
 among all the American races, so also their pre 
 historic remains are extremely interesting to the 
 archeologist. 
 
EXTINCT CIVILIZATION OF PERU 1 73 
 
 I. Architecture. In the interior of the country 
 we find many remarkable examples of stone build 
 ing, such as walls of huge polygonal stones, four- 
 sided or five-sided or six-sided, some six feet 
 across, laid without mortar, and so finely polished 
 and adjusted that the blade of a knife can not be 
 inserted between them. The strength of the 
 masonry is sometimes assisted by having the 
 projecting parts of a stone fitting into corre- 
 
 Monolith Doorway. Near Lake Titicaca. Fig. I. 
 
 spending hollows or recesses in the stone above 
 or below it. The stones being frequently ex 
 tremely hard granite, or basalt, etc., antiquarian 
 travelers have wondered how in early times the 
 natives could have cut and polished them without 
 any metal tools. The ordinary explanation is 
 that the work was done by patiently rubbing one 
 stone against another, with the aid of sharp 
 sand, "time being no object" in the case of the 
 laborers among savage and primitive races. It 
 is believed by most antiquaries that long before 
 
I?4 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 the period of the Incas there was a powerful em 
 pire to which we must attribute such Cyclopean 
 ruins ; especially as the construction and style 
 differ so greatly from what is found in the Inca 
 period. The huge stones occur at Tiahuanacu 
 (near Lake Titicaca), Cuzco, Ollantay, and the 
 altar of Concacha. Fig. I is a broken doorway 
 at Tiahuanacu, composed of huge monoliths. 
 Fig. 2 is an enlargement of an image over the 
 doorway shown in Fig. i. The doorway forms 
 the entrance to a quadrangular area (400 yards 
 by 350) surrounded by large stones standing on 
 end. The gateway or doorway of Fig. i is one 
 of the most marvelous stone monuments existing, 
 being one block of hard rock, deeply sunk in the 
 ground. The present height is over seven feet. 
 The whole of the inner side "from a line level 
 with the upper lintel of the doorway to the top" 
 is a mass of sculpture, "which speaks to us/ says 
 Sir C. R. Markham, "in difficult riddles of the 
 customs and art culture, of the beliefs and tradi 
 tions of an ancient" extinct civilization. 
 
 The figure in high relief above the doorway 
 (Fig. 2) is a head surrounded by rays, "each 
 terminating in a circle or the head of an animal." 
 Six human heads hang from the girdle, and two 
 more from the elbows. Each hand holds a 
 scepter terminating at the lower end with the 
 head of a condor that huge American vulture 
 familiar to the Peruvians. That bird of prey was 
 probably an emblem of royalty to the prehistoric 
 dynasty now long forgotten. 
 
 Some older historians speak of richly carved 
 statues which formerly stood in this enclosure, 
 and "many cylindrical pillars." Of the masonry 
 
Image over the doorway shown in Fig. i. 
 Near Lake Titicaca. Fig. 2. 
 
176 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 of these ruins generally, Squier says : "The stone 
 is faced with a precision that no skill can excel, 
 its right angles turned with an accuracy that the 
 most careful geometer could not surpass. I do 
 not believe there exists a better piece of stone- 
 cutting, the material considered, on this or the 
 other continent." 
 
 The fortress above Cuzco, the capital of the 
 Incas, is considered the grandest monument of 
 extinct American civilization. "Like the Pyra 
 mids and the Coliseum, it is imperishable. . . . 
 A fortified work, 600 yards in length, built of 
 gigantic stones, in three lines, forming walls sup 
 porting terraces and parapets. . . . The stones 
 are of blue limestone, of enormous size and ir 
 regular in shape, but fitted into each other with 
 rare precision. One stone is twenty-seven feet 
 high by fourteen ; and others fifteen feet high by 
 twelve are common throughout the work." 
 
 In all the architecture of the prehistoric Peru 
 vians the true arch is not found, though there 
 is an approach to the "Maya arch," formerly de 
 scribed, finishing the doorway overhead by over 
 lapping stones. 
 
 The immense fortresses of Ollantay and Pisac 
 are really hills which, by means of encircling 
 walls, have been transformed into immense pyra 
 mids with many terraces rising above each 
 other. All large buildings, such as temples and 
 palaces, were laid out to agree with the "cardinal 
 points," the principal entrance always facing the 
 rising sun. The tomb construction of the an 
 cient Peruvians has been already noticed (v. 
 chap. iv). 
 
 To the south of Cuzco are the ruins of a 
 
EXTINCT CIVILIZATION OF PERU 1 77 
 
 temple, Cacha, which is considered to be of a 
 date between the Cyclopean structures already 
 described and the Inca architecture. The chief 
 part is no yards long,. built of wrought stones; 
 and in the middle of the building from end to 
 end runs a wall pierced by twelve high doorways. 
 There were also two series of pillars which had 
 formerly supported a floor. 
 
 Those traces of the Cyclopean builders point 
 to an extremely early date, but several students 
 of the Peruvian antiquities point confidently to 
 distinct evidence of a still more primitive race 
 to be compared, perhaps, with those builders of 
 "Druidic monuments" whom it is now the fash 
 ion to call "neolithic men." Some "cromlechs" 
 or burial-places have been found in Bolivia and 
 other parts of Peru ; and in many respects they 
 are parallel to the stone monuments found in 
 Great Britain as well as Brittany and other parts 
 of Europe. Some of those Peruvian cromlechs 
 consist of four great slabs of slate, each about 
 five feet high, four or five in width, and more 
 than an inch thick. A fifth is placed over them. 
 Over the W 7 hole a pyramid of clay and rough 
 stones is piled. Possibly that race of cromlech 
 builders bore the same relation to the temple 
 builders described above that the builders of 
 Kits Coty House, between Rochester and Maid- 
 stone, bore to the temple builders of Stonehenge 
 on Salisbury Plain. If they had to retreat, as 
 the ice-sheet was driven farther from the torrid 
 zone, then by the theory of the Glacial Period 
 the Cromlech men in both cases would at last be 
 simply Eskimos. 
 
 2. Aqueducts. The ancient Peruvians at- 
 
17^ EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 tained great skill in the distribution of water 
 especially for irrigation. Artificial lakes or res 
 ervoirs were formed, so that by damming up the 
 streams in the rainy season a good supply was 
 created for the dry season. Some great monu 
 ments still remain of their hydraulic engineer 
 ing, such as extensive cisterns, solid dikes along 
 the rivers to prevent overflow, tunnels to drain 
 lakes during an oversupply, and, in some places, 
 artificial cascades. 
 
 3. Roads and Bridges. The roads and high 
 ways of the Incas were so excellent that "in 
 many places they still offer by far the most con 
 venient avenues of transit. They are from fifteen 
 to twenty-five feet in width, bedded with small 
 stones often laid in concrete. As the use of 
 beasts of burden was almost unknown, the roads 
 did not ascend a steep inclination by zigzags but 
 by steps cut in the rock. At certain distances 
 public shelters were erected for travelers, and 
 some of these still offer the best lodging-houses 
 to be found along the routes. Bridges were of 
 wood, of ropes made from maguey fiber, or of 
 stone. Some of the latter are still in excellent 
 condition, in spite of the violence of the moun 
 tain torrents which they have spanned for four 
 centuries. 
 
 4. Sculpture. The Maya race of Yucatan and 
 Central America were much superior to the pre 
 historic Peruvians in stone sculpture. Except 
 those examples already referred to under i, their 
 artists have apparently produced nothing to show 
 skill in workmanship, much less fertility of imag 
 ination. That is largely explained by their lack 
 of suitable tools. 
 
EXTINCT CIVILIZATION OF PERU 1 79 
 
 5. Goldsmith s Work. In this branch of art 
 the ancient Peruvians greatly excelled, especially 
 in inlaying and gilding. Gold-beating and gild 
 ing had been prosecuted to remarkable delicacy, 
 and the very thin layers of gold-leaf on many 
 articles led the Spaniards at first to believe they 
 were of the solid metal. These delicate layers 
 showed ornamental designs, including birds, but 
 terflies, and the like. 
 
 6. Pottery. In this department of industrial 
 art the prehistoric Peruvians showed much apti 
 tude both "in regard to variety of design and 
 technical skill in preparing the material. Vases 
 with pointed bottoms and painted sides recalling 
 those of ancient Greece and Etruria are often 
 disinterred along the coast." The merit of those 
 artists lay in perfect imitation of natural objects, 
 such as birds, fishes, fruits, plants, skulls, per 
 sons in various positions, faces (often with 
 graphic individuality). Some jars exactly re 
 sembled the "magic vases" which are still found 
 in Hindustan, and can be emptied only when held 
 at a certain angle. 
 
 7. Though ignorant of perspective and the 
 rules of light and shade, these ancient Peruvians 
 had an accurate eye for color. "Spinning, weav 
 ing, and dyeing/ to quote Sir C. R. Markham, 
 "were arts which were sources of employment to 
 a great number, owing to the quantity and variety 
 of the fabrics. . . . There were rich dresses 
 interwoven with gold or made of gold thread ; 
 fine woolen mantles ornamented with borders of 
 small square plates of gold and silver; colored 
 cotton cloths worked in complicated patterns ; 
 and fabrics of aloe fiber and sheep s sinews for 
 
i8o EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 breeches. Coarser cloths of llama wool were also 
 made in vast quantities. 
 
 8. The quipn (i e., "knot"). Without writing 
 or even any of the simpler forms of pictographs 
 which some Indian races inferior to them in re 
 finement had invented, the Peruvians had no 
 means of sending a message relating to tribute or 
 the number of warriors in an army, or a date; 
 
 The Quipu. 
 
 except the quipu. It consisted of one principal 
 cord about two feet long held horizontally, to 
 which other cords of various colors and lengths 
 were attached, hanging vertically. The knots on 
 the vertical cords, and their various lengths 
 served by means of an arranged code to convey 
 certain words and phrases. Each color and each 
 knot had so many conventional significations; 
 thus white = silver, green = corn, yellow = 
 
EXTINCT CIVILIZATION OF PERU 181 
 
 gold ; but in another quipu, white = peace, red = 
 war, soldiers, etc. The quipu was originally only 
 a means of numeration and keeping accounts, 
 thus : 
 
 two singles = 20 
 two doubles == 200 
 
 etc. 
 
 a single knot = 10 
 a double " = 100 
 a triple =1,000 
 
 9. The great stone monuments described in 
 our first section belonged, according to some 
 writers, to a dynasty called Pirua, who ruled over 
 the highlands of Peru and Bolivia long before the 
 times of the Incas. That early race had as the 
 center of their civilization the shores of Lake 
 Titicaca. 
 
 10. The Ancient Capital. Cuzco, the center of 
 government till the time of the conquest by the 
 Spaniards, and for a long time the only city in 
 the Peruvian empire, deserves a paragraph under 
 the head archeology. Its wonderful fortress has 
 already been referred to, and there are other 
 Cyclopean remains, such as the great wall which 
 contains the "stone of twelve corners." Some 
 monuments of the Inca period also attract much 
 attention, such as the Curi-cancha temple, 296 
 feet long, the palace of Amaru-cancha (i. e., 
 "place of serpents"), so called from the serpents 
 sculptured in relief on the exterior. Of these 
 and other buildings Squier remarks that the 
 "joints are of a precision unknown in our archi 
 tecture ; the world has nothing to show in the 
 way of stone-cutting and fitting to surpass the 
 skill and accuracy displayed in the Inca struc 
 tures of Cuzco." To obtain the site for their 
 capital the Incas had to carry out a great en- 
 
1 82 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 gineering work, by confining two mountain tor 
 rents between walls of substantial masonry so 
 solid as to serve even to modern times. The Val 
 ley of Cuzcq was the source of the Peruvian civil 
 ization, center and origin of the empire. Hence 
 the name, Cuzco = "navel," just as the ancient 
 Greeks called Athens umbilicus terra, and our 
 
 Gold Ornament (? Zodiac) from a Tomb at Cuzco. 
 
 New England cousins fondly refer to Boston, 
 Mass., as "the hub of the universe" ! 
 
 (B) Peru before the Arrival of the Spaniards 
 
 The "national myth" of the Peruvians was that 
 at Lake Titicaca two supernatural beings ap 
 peared, both children of the Sun. One was 
 Manco Capac, the first Inca, who taught the 
 people agriculture; the other was his wife, who 
 
EXTINCT CIVILIZATION OF PERU 183 
 
 taught the women to spin and weave. From 
 them were lineally derived all the Incas. As 
 representing the Sun, the Inca was high priest 
 and head of the hierarchy, and therefore presided 
 at the great religious festivals. He was the 
 source from which everything flowed all dig 
 nity, all power, all emolument. Louis le Mag- 
 nifique when at the height of his power might 
 be taken as a type of the emperor Inca : both 
 could literally use the phrase, L etat c est Moi, 
 "The State ! I am the State !" 
 
 In the royal palaces and dress great barbaric 
 pomp was assumed. All the apartments were 
 studded with gold and silver ornaments. 
 
 The worship of the Sun, representing the 
 Creator, the Dweller in Space, the Teacher and 
 Ruler of the Universe,* was the religion of the 
 Incas inherited from their distant ancestry. The 
 great temple at Cuzco, with its gorgeous display 
 of riches, was called "the place of gold, the abode 
 of the Teacher of the Universe/ An elliptical 
 plate of gold was fixed on the wall to represent 
 the Deity. 
 
 Sufficient evidence is still visible of the en 
 gineering industry evinced by the natives before 
 the arrival of Pizarro. We give some particulars 
 of the two principal highways, both joining 
 Quito to Cuzco, then passing south to Chile. 
 First, the high level road, 1,600 miles in length, 
 crossing the great Peruvian table-land, and con 
 ducted over pathless sierras buried in snow ; with 
 galleries cut for leagues through the living rock, 
 rivers crossed by means of bridges, and ravines 
 of hideous depth filled up with solid masonry. 
 * According to Sir C. R. Markham, F. R. S. 
 
1 84 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 The roadway consisted of heavy flags of free 
 stone. Secondly, the low level highway along the 
 coast country between the Andes and the Pacific. 
 The prehistoric engineers had here to encounter 
 quite a different task. The causeway was raised 
 on a high embaakment of earth, with trees 
 planted along the margin. In the strips of sandy 
 waste, huge piles (many of them to be seen to 
 this day) were driven into the ground to indi 
 cate the route. 
 
 Another colossal effort was the conveyance of 
 water to the rainless country by the seacoast, 
 especially to certain parts capable of being re 
 claimed and made fertile. Some of the aqueducts 
 were of great length one measuring between 
 400 and 500 miles. 
 
 The following table gives the Peruvian calen 
 dar for a year: 
 
 I. Raymi, the Festival of the Winter Solstice, 
 
 in honor of the Sun . . June 22(1. 
 
 Season of plowing . . . July 22d. 
 
 Season of sowing . . . August 22d. 
 
 II. Festival of the Spring Equinox September 22d. 
 
 Season of brewing . . . October 22d. 
 
 Commemoration of the Dead . November 22d. 
 
 III. Festival of the Simmer Solstice . December 22d. 
 
 Season of exercises . . . January 22d. 
 Season of ripening . . . February 22d. 
 
 IV. Festival of Autumn Equinox . March 22d. 
 
 Beginning of harvest . . April 22d. 
 Harvesting month . . . May 22d. 
 
 Since Quito is exactly on the equator, the ver 
 tical rays of the sun at noon during the equinox 
 cast no shadow. That northern capital, there- 
 
EXTINCT CIVILIZATION OF PERU 185 
 
 fore, was "held in especial veneration as the fa 
 vored abode of the great deity." 
 
 At the feast of Raymi, or New Year s day, the 
 sacrifice usually offered was that of the llama, a 
 fire being kindled by means of a concave mirror 
 of polished metal collecting the rays of the sun 
 into a focus upon a quantity of dried cotton. 
 
 The national festival of the Aztecs we com 
 pared to the secular celebration of the Romans ; 
 so now the Raymi of the Peruvians may be 
 likened to the Panathenaea of ancient Athens, 
 when the people of Attica ascended in splendid 
 procession to the shrine on the Acropolis. 
 
 In Mexico the Spanish travelers often experi 
 enced severe famines ; and in India, even at the 
 present day (to the disgrace perhaps of our man 
 agement) nearly every year many thousands die 
 of hunger. It was very different under the an 
 cient Peruvians, because by law "the product of 
 the lands consecrated to the Sun, as well as those 
 set apart for the Incas, was deposited in the Tarn- 
 bos, or public storehouses, as a stated provision 
 for times of scarcity." 
 
 The Spaniards found those prehistoric agricul 
 turists utilizing the inexhaustible supply of guano 
 found on all the islands of the Pacific. It was 
 not till the middle of the nineteenth century that 
 the British farmer found the value of this fer 
 tilizer. 
 
1 86 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 PIZARRO AND THE INCAS 
 
 WHEN stout-hearted Balboa first reached the 
 summit of the isthmus range and looked south 
 over the Bay of Panama, he might have seen 
 the "Silver Bell," which forms the summit of the 
 mighty volcano Chimborazo. Still farther south 
 in the same direction lay the "land of gold/ of 
 which he had heard. 
 
 Balboa was unjustly prevented from exploring 
 that unknown country, but among the Spanish 
 soldiers in Panama there were two who de 
 termined to carry out Balboa s scheme. The 
 younger, Pizarro, was destined to rival Cortes as 
 explorer and conqueror; Almagro, his compan 
 ion in the expedition, was less crafty and cruel. 
 Sailing from Panama, the Spanish first landed 
 on the coast below Quito, and found the natives 
 wearing gold and silver trinkets. On a second 
 voyage, with more men, they explored the coast 
 of Peru and visited Tumbez, a town with a lofty 
 temple and a palace for the Incas. 
 
 They beheld a country fully peopled and cultivated; the 
 natives were decently clothed, and possessed of ingenuity 
 so far surpassing the other inhabitants of the New World 
 as to have the use of tame domestic animals. But what 
 chiefly attracted the notice of the visitors was such a show 
 of gold and silver, not only in ornaments, but in several 
 vessels and utensils for common use, formed of those pre 
 cious metals as left no room to doubt that they abounded 
 with profusion in the country. 
 
PIZARRO AND THE INC AS 187 
 
 After his return Pizarro visited Spain and 
 secured the patronage of Charles V, who ap 
 pointed him Governor and Captain-General of the 
 newly discovered country. In the next voyage 
 from Panama, Pizarro set sail with 180 soldiers 
 in three small ships "a contemptible force surely 
 to invade the great empire of Peru." 
 
 Pizarro was very fortunate in the time of his 
 arrival, because two brothers were fiercely con 
 tending in civil war to obtain the sovereignty. 
 Their father, Huana Capac, the twelfth Inca in 
 succession from Manco Capac, had recently died 
 after annexing the kingdom of Quito, and thus 
 doubling the power of the empire. Pizarro 
 made friends with Atahualpa, who had become 
 Inca by the defeat and death of his brother, and 
 a friendly meeting was arranged between them. 
 The Peruvians are thus described by a Spanish 
 onlooker : 
 
 First of all there arrived 400 men in uniform; the Inca 
 himself, on a couch adorned with plumes, and almost cov 
 ered with plates of gold and silver, enriched with precious 
 stones, was carried on the shoulders of his principal attend 
 ants. Several bands of singers and dancers accompanied 
 the procession; and the whole plain was covered with 
 troops, more than 30,000 men. 
 
 After engaging in a religious dispute with the 
 Inca, who refused to acknowledge the authority 
 of the Pope and threw the breviary on the ground, 
 the Spanish chaplain exclaimed indignantly that 
 the Word of God had been insulted by a heathen. 
 
 Pizarro instantly gave the signal of assault: the martial 
 music struck up, the cannon and muskets began to fire, the 
 
1 88 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 horse rallied out fiercely to the charge, the infantry rushed 
 on sword in hand. The Peruvians, astonished at the sud 
 denness of the attack, dismayed with the effect of the fire 
 arms and the irresistible impression of the cavalry, fled 
 with universal consternation on every side. Pizarro, at 
 the head of his chosen band, soon penetrated to the royal 
 seat, and seizing the Inca by the arm, carried him as a 
 prisoner to the Spanish quarters. 
 
 For his ransom Atahualpa agreed to pay a 
 weight of gold amounting to more than five mil 
 lions sterling. 
 
 Instead of keeping faith with the Inca by re 
 storing him to liberty, Pizarro basely allowed him 
 to be tried on several false charges and con 
 demned to be burned alive. 
 
 After hearing of the enormous ransom many 
 Spaniards hurried from Guatemala, Panama, and 
 Nicaragua to share in the newly discovered booty 
 of Peru, the "land of gold." Pizarro, therefore, 
 being now greatly reenforced with soldiers, 
 "forced his way to Cuzco, the capital. The riches 
 found there exceeded in value what had been re 
 ceived as Atahualpa s ransom. 
 
 As Governor of Peru, Pizarro chose a new site 
 for his capital, nearer the coast than Cuzco, and 
 there founded Lima. It is now a great center of 
 trade. Pizarro lived here in great state till the 
 year 1542, when his fate reached him by means 
 of a party of conspirators seeking to avenge the 
 death of Almagro, his former rival, whom he had 
 cruelly executed as a traitor. On Sunday, June 
 26th, at midday, while all Lima was quiet under 
 the siesta, the conspirators passed unobserved 
 through the two outer courts of the palace, and 
 speedily despatched the soldier-adventurer, in- 
 
PIZARRO AND THE IN CAS 189 
 
 trepidly defending himself with a sword and* 
 buckler. "A deadly thrust full in the throat/ and 
 the tale of daring Pizarro was told. 
 
 Raro antecedentem scelestum 
 DeseruU pede Poena claudo. 
 
 When 
 
 Did Doom, though lame, not bide its time, 
 To clutch the nape of skulking Crime? 
 
 W. E. GLADSTONE. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 AGATHOCLES, 119. 
 
 Agassiz. 73. 
 
 Alfred, King, 19. 
 
 Almagro, Pizarro s rival, 186, 189. 
 
 Alvarado, 158, 159. 
 
 America, Discoveries of, 19-35. 3 8 ~45 
 
 48-53- 
 
 America, origin of the name, 50. 
 
 American Archeology, 71-79 (see also 
 AZTEC, PERU, CIVILIZATION). 
 
 Amerigo (Americas), (see VESPUCCI). 
 
 Anahuac, 56, 58, 63. 
 
 Archeology, 71-88 (see under AZTEC, 
 MEXICO, PERU, and CIVILIZATION, 
 EXTINCT). 
 
 Aristotle, shape of the earth, 10. 
 
 Arthur, King, 19. 
 
 Atahualpa, Inca, 187, 188. 
 
 Atlantic, ridge, 15. 
 
 Atlantis, island or continent, 14, 15. 
 
 Avalon, 17. 
 
 Aztecs, their traditions, 54, 56, 57, 62, 
 63- 
 
 Aztecs, antiquities, 55. 
 
 Aztecs, kingdom, 58; empire founded, 
 76. - 
 
 Aztecs, letters, etc.. 58, 79-82. 
 
 Aztecs, astronomy, 64, 65, 68, 83. 
 
 Aztecs, human sacrifices, 59, 60, 62, 
 102, 106; how explained by com 
 parison with Jews, Greeks, Druids, 
 etc., 100-106. 
 
 Aztecs, priesthood, 65, 67. 
 
 Aztecs, religion, 92, 93 ; laws, 90. 
 
 Aztecs, natural piety, 66-68. 
 
 Aztecs, secular festival, 68-70. 
 
 Aztecs, soldiery, 91, 92. 
 
 Aztecs, agriculture, 94. 
 
 Aztecs, markets, 97, 147. 
 
 Aztecs, banquets, social amusements, 
 
 A 9 ^ " t 
 
 Aztlan, 56. 
 
 BACON, Roger, 18. 
 
 Bahamas, 41. 
 
 Balboa, 9, 50, 52, 164, 168. 
 
 Balboa scheme adopted by Pizarro, 
 
 186. 
 Balboa hears of the Land of Gold, 
 
 165. 
 
 Balboa crosses the isthmus, 166, 167. 
 Balboa unjustly treated, 167, 168. 
 Barcelona, Columbus honored at 
 
 Court, 45. 
 
 Basque Discovery, 32. 
 Boston in Vinland, 26, 182. 
 Brandan, St. discoverer, 32. 
 Brito, ship-canal, 172. 
 BuccaneerSj origin, etc., 169, 170. 
 Buffon, 15. 
 Burgos, Bishop of, 157, 168. 
 
 C. 
 
 CABOT, 38, 48, 49. 
 Cabrera reaches Brazil, 49. 
 Cakama, prince of Tezcuco. 154. 
 Calendar Stone, 83, 84. 
 Calicut reached by Gama. 49. 
 Canaanites, etc., sun-worship, 102, 
 
 103. 
 
 Cannibalism, 102, 103. 
 Capac, Inca, 182, 187. 
 Carthage, 17, 102. 
 Cathay, 39, 43, 45. 
 Cazique. 43, 117, etc. 
 Celtic discoveries, 19, 3032. 
 Chalco, Lake, 136, 137. 
 
I9 2 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 Charles V. and Cortes, 164. 
 
 Chiapas. 77. 
 
 Chibchas, 85. 
 
 Cholula, 84, 94, 130, 133. 
 
 Civilization, Extinct, chaps, iii, ix. 
 
 Civilization, Celtic, 19. 
 
 Civilization, Norse, 19-25, 27-31. 
 
 Civilization, Aztec, etc., 54-70, 82, 83. 
 
 Civilization, Peru, 172-185. 
 
 Colon (st-e COLUMBUS); also an Atlan 
 tic port on the isthmus of Danen, 
 172. 
 
 Columbia, 76, 85. 
 
 Columbus, 17-18, 37, 38-46, 157. 
 
 Columbus, early failures, 39. 
 
 Columbus, voyage to Iceland, 39. 
 
 Columbus, variation of the compass, 
 41, 42, 49. _ 
 
 Columbus, discovers Bahamas, Cuba, 
 Hayti, 42-44. 
 
 Columbus, discovers Trinidad and 
 Orinoco, 45. 
 
 Columbus, map by (found in 1894), 42. 
 
 Columbus, autograph (cut) and epi 
 taph, 46. 
 
 Columbus, Ferdinand, 18; Bartholo 
 mew, 43. 
 
 Columbus, Diego. 47, 157. 
 
 Continent, supposed southern (cut), 
 12. 
 
 Continent, Western, 13 (see ATLANTIS, 
 HESPERIDES). 
 
 Condor, emblem of prehistoric Inca, 
 173, 175 (cuts). 
 
 Copan, 79-81. 
 
 Cordova lands on Yucatan, 53. 
 Cortes appointed leader, 53, 64, 77, 80. 
 
 Cortes at Cuba and Hayti, 117. 
 
 Cortes at Yucatan, 109. 
 
 Cortes and Teuhtile, in, 112. 
 
 Cortes, generalship, 119, 124, 126, 159. 
 
 Cortes, resource, 127, 128, 158. 
 
 Cortes, cruelty, 129, 132, 153. 
 
 Cortes at Popocatepetl, 133. 
 
 Cortes and Montezuma, 141, 143-143. 
 
 Cortes, lack of delicacy, 152. 
 
 Cortes, arrest of Montezuma, 152-157. 
 
 Cortes, personal courage, 162. 
 
 Cortes, retreat, "Night of Sorrows," 
 163- 
 
 Cortes, Mexico retaken and its em 
 peror hanged, 164. 
 
 Cortes and Charles V., 164. 
 
 Cliff-houses, 86. 
 
 Cotton, Az. tec., preparation of, 84, 
 96. 
 
 Cromwell, his influence, 170. 
 
 Cruz, Vera, no, 114, 120, 156, 157, 163. 
 
 ! Cuba, 43-45, 51-53, 84. 
 ! Culhua, no. 
 
 Cuzco, 174, 176, 181, 183, 188. 
 Cuzco, Cyclopean remains, 181, 183. 
 Cuzco, temple, 183. 
 Cyclopean ruins in Peru, 173, 178, 181- 
 
 183. 
 
 Cyclopean ruins in Peru (cuts), 173, 
 !75- 
 
 D. 
 
 DALRYMI-LE, Sir John, 169, 170. 
 
 Dampier, buccaneer, 170. 
 
 Darien, taken by Balboa, 169. 
 
 Darien, Scottish Expedition, 169. 
 ! Darien, causes of failure, 169, 170. 
 : Darien, crossed by Morgan, 170, 171. 
 I Darien, crossed by Dampier, 171. 
 | Diaz, navigator, rounds the Cape of 
 Good Hope and names it the 
 " Stormy Cape," 49. 
 
 Diaz, historian, quoted, 148, 151, 158, 
 1 60. 
 
 Dighton Stone, 28 (cuts, 27, 28). 
 
 Diodorus Siculus, 16. 
 
 Druid Sacrifices, 106. 
 I "Druidic," 74, 177, 178. 
 
 E. 
 
 EDWARD VI and Cabot, 48. 
 Elysian Fields, 13, 14, 16. 
 Erik the Red, 20. 
 Escobar, 162. 
 Euripides, quoted, 14. 
 
 F. 
 
 FEATHER-WORK, 84, 96. 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, 40, 41. 
 Feudalism ended, 36. 
 
 G. 
 
 GAMA, De, 38, 58. 
 Gardens, 138, 139. 
 Glazier, Theory, 73-74. 
 Gladstone quoted, 189. 
 Gosnold s Expedition, 25, 26. 
 Greenland, 19-25, 30, 31. 
 Grijalva and Yucatan, 10, 53. 
 Guatemala, 58, 76, 79. 
 Guatimozin, 163. 
 Gunnbiorn, 20. 
 
INDEX 
 
 193 
 
 H. 
 
 HANNIBAL on the Alps, 134, 135. 
 
 Harold Fair-hair, 20. 
 
 Hatuey, 51, 52. 
 
 Hayti, 43, 98. 
 
 Helluland (Newfoundland), 22. 
 
 Henry VII., 48, 49. 
 
 Hercules Pillars, 13, 17. 
 
 Herodotus, 10, n. 
 
 Hesiod, quoted, 13. 
 
 Hesperides, Isles of the Blest, 14. 
 
 Homer, quoted, 10, 13. 
 
 Honduras, 76, 79. 
 
 Huitzilopochtli, god of battles, 93, 94, 
 
 150, 151 (see MEXITL.) 
 Humboldt, 35, 50, 65, 73, 83, 94. 
 
 I. 
 
 ICELAND, 19, 20. 
 
 Incas, 172, 182 (see PERU). 
 
 "Indian, as a term applied to the 
 New World by mistake, a blunder 
 still perpetuated, 42 (cf. 98. 
 
 Indians, "Red-skins," 72-74, 80, 90. 
 
 Ingolf, 19. 
 
 Iphigenia, 104. 
 
 Ireland. Mickle, 20, 31, 32. 
 
 Italian Discovery, 34-36. 
 
 Itztli (obsidian), used as a sharp flint, 
 95- 
 
 Iztapalapan, 138. 
 
 J- 
 
 JAMAICA, 170. 
 
 Jewish "Discovery," 33. 
 
 Juan, S., ship-canal, 173 
 
 K. 
 
 KATORTUK (Greenland), 21, 22 (cut, 
 
 21). 
 Kingsborough, Lord, 34, 69, 82. 
 
 L. 
 
 LEIF ERIKSON, 21-23. 
 Lesseps de, 171-173. 
 Loadstone, 41, 42. 
 Longfellow, quoted, 29. 
 Lucian, quoted, 17, 
 
 13 
 
 M. 
 
 MADOC, 32, 33, 70. 
 
 Magellan reaches the Pacific Ocean 
 and names it, 49; killed at Matan, 
 5- 
 
 Magnetic Pole, 41. 
 
 Maguey plant, its singular value, 94. 
 
 Major, Mr., on Pre-Columbian discov 
 eries of America, and site of the 
 Greenland colonies, 35, 36. 
 
 Malte Brun. 35. 
 
 Marina, "slave-interpreter," 109, 115, 
 128, 131. 
 
 Markham, Sir C., quoted, 30, 174, 179, 
 183. 
 
 Markland (Nova Scotia), 22. 
 
 Marvels, Age of, 38, 39. 
 
 Maya, Mayapan, 76, 79. 
 
 Maya, MS., 81, 82. 
 
 Maya, trade, 84. 
 
 Mayflower lands in Vinland, 26. 
 
 Medea, 18, 104. 
 
 Merida, 78. 
 
 Mexico, Mexicans (see also AZTECS). 
 
 Mexico, archeology, 72-86. 
 
 Mexico, geography, 89, 90, 133-135. 
 
 Mexico, valley, 134, 135. 
 
 Mexico, town, 139. 142, 145-151. 
 
 Mexico, wealth, 155. 
 
 Mexico, siege, 160-164. 
 
 Mexico, ferocity in war, 160-164. 
 
 Mexitl. the god of battles, another 
 name for Huitzilopochtli, 93. 
 
 Monolith (cuts), 173, 175. 
 
 Montezuma L, 57. 
 
 Montezuma, 110-113. 
 
 Montezuma. meaning of name, 113. 
 
 Montezuma, power. 120, 121, 135, 141. 
 
 Montezuma, affability, 144. 
 
 Montezuma, dress, etc.,.i6i. 
 
 Montezuma. death, 162. 
 
 Montgomery, James, 20, 22, 23. 
 
 Morgan, buccaneer, 170. 
 
 Mound builders, 31, 71, 85. 
 
 Miiller, Max, quoted, 56. 
 
 N. 
 
 NARVAEZ, 158, 159. 
 Nicaragua, ship-canal, 58, 172. 
 Norse Discovery, 19-32. 
 Norse towns in Greenland, 20. 
 Norumbega, 25. 
 
194 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST 
 
 O. 
 
 OCEAN, Western, 12, 16, 17. . 
 Ocean, Southern, first name for the 
 
 Atlantic (q.v.) 
 Oceanus, river, 10. 
 Ogygia, 1 6. 
 
 Ollantay, Peru, 174, 176, 
 Orinoco, discovered, 45. 
 Orizaba, 120. 
 Overland Route, 37. 
 
 P. 
 
 PACIFIC, first seen, 166. 
 
 Pacific, first sailed upon, 501 
 
 Palenque, 77, 79, 81. 
 
 Palos, 41, 45. 
 
 Panama, 166, 171, 172. 
 
 Panama, modern, 171. 
 
 Paper (prehistoric) of Mexico, 82. 
 
 Pedrarias, 167, 168. 
 
 Peru and Incas, chaps, ix., x. 
 
 Peru agriculture, 182, 185. 
 
 Peru aqueducts, roads, etc., 177. 
 
 Peru archeology, 172-182. 
 
 Peru architecture, 87, 172-178. 
 
 Peru calendar, 184, 185. 
 
 Peru chulpas, 87 (cut). 
 
 Peru quipu, 180 (cut). 
 
 Peru sculpture and pottery, 178. 
 
 Peru history and religion, 182. 
 
 Phenicians, n, 17. 
 
 Pictograph, So, 112. 
 
 Pindar, quoted, 13. 
 
 Pizarro, 164, 167. 
 
 Pizarro and Atahualpha, 187, 188. 
 
 Pizarro and Peru, 186-189. 
 
 Pizarro, first and second voyages, 186, 
 
 . l8 7- 
 
 Pizarro imitated Balboa, 165, 186. 
 Pizarro invades Peru, 187. 
 Pizarro, his treachery and cruelty, 188, 
 
 189. 
 
 Pizarro at Cusco, 188. 
 Pizarro founds Lima, 188. 
 Pizarro, " Doom " at last, 189. 
 Plato, 14, 15. 
 Plutarch, 16. 
 Polo, Marco, 39, 43. 
 Polyxena, 104. 
 Popocatepetl, 133, 134. 
 Ptolemy, IT, 39, 
 Pythagorean theory, 10. 
 
 Q. 
 
 QUETZALCOATL, 84:, 93, 94, III, 113, 
 
 130, 152, 
 
 Quipu, 180, 181 (cut, 180). 
 
 R. 
 
 RAFN, 28, 29, 31. 
 
 Raymi, Peruvian festival, 184, 185. 
 
 Renascence, o, 36, 37. 
 
 Renascence influence on travel and 
 
 exploration, 38. 
 Renascence assisted the Reformation, 
 
 37- 
 Runes in Greenland, 27, 28. 
 
 SEBASTIAN, Magellan s Basque lieu 
 tenant, 33, 50. 
 Seneca, 18, 19 (title-page). 
 "Scraelings," Vinland, 23. 
 " Skeleton in Armor," 29. 
 Spain, how consolidated, 37, 106. 
 Spain, close of its colonial history, 52. 
 Squier, quoted, 176, 181. 
 
 T. 
 
 TAMBOS, Peru, 185. 
 
 Tehuantepec, isthmus, 171. 
 
 Tenochtitlan, Mexico, 57. 
 
 Teocalli, 106, 117, 148-151, 156 (cut, 
 
 ^105). 
 
 Tezcatlipoca, god of youth, 61. 
 Tezcuco, eastern capital, Mexico, 56. 
 Tezcuco, 56, 57, 136. 
 Tezcuco, king of, 100. 
 Tezcuco, lake, 139-140. 
 Thorfinn, 23. 
 Thorwaldsen, 23. 
 Titicaca, lake, 71, 182. 
 Titicaca (see CYCLOPEAN RUINS), 174, 
 
 J 75- 
 
 Tlaloc, god of rain, 63. 
 Tlascala, 113, 121-127, 130, 153, 159, 
 
 163. 
 
 Tlascala, people, and siege, 130, 133. 
 Toltecs, 56, 71. 
 Totonacs, 115. 
 Trinidad, 45. 
 Tula, 56. 
 
 Tumbez, Peru, 186.^ 
 Turks, causing civilization, 36, 38. 
 
 u. 
 
 UTATLA, 79. 
 
 Uxmal, 55, 76 (frontispiece). 
 
INDEX 
 
 195 
 
 V. 
 
 VALLADOLID, 46. 
 
 Velasquez, 51-53, 107, 108, 158. 
 
 Vesper, 14 (see HESPERIDES). 
 
 Vespucci, 49, 51, 52. 
 
 Vinland (New England), 23, 25. 
 
 Vinland, map of, 24. 
 
 Voltaire, story of Cortes, 164. 
 
 W. 
 
 WALDSEEMOLLER, 50. 
 
 Watling s Island, 42. 
 
 Welsh Discovery, 32, 33. 
 
 William III. and Darien Scheme, 168- 
 
 7 ! 6 9- 
 
 Wilson, " Prehistoric Man," 26, 81. 
 World, shape of, 9-11. 
 
 X. 
 
 XALAPA, 120. 
 
 Xicotencatl, Tlascalan, 124, 126, 127- 
 
 130. 
 Xicotencatl appearance, 129. 
 
 Y. 
 
 YOCHICALCO, 86. 
 Yucatan, 53, 54 , 75 _ 77 . 
 
 Z. 
 
 ZEMPOALLA, "conversion of," 116. 
 
 Zempoalla, 119, 158, 159. 
 
 Zeni, Italian brothers, 34-35. 
 
 Zeno map, 34, 35. 
 
 Zipango (Japan), 39, 45 . 
 
 Zodiac, comparative, 55. 
 
 Zodiac (cut) from a tomb at Cusco, 182, 
 
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