Chapter VI: The Chichimec Period.--Continued (1)

Migration of the Aztecs -- Nations of Anáhuac at Beginning of
the Thirteenth Century -- The Aztecs submit to the Tepanecs
-- Reign of the Emperor Tlotzin -- Quinantzin, King of
Tezcuco and Chichimec Emperor -- Transfer of the Capital --
Tenancacaltzin usurps the Imperial Throne at Tenayocan -- The
Usurper defeated by Tepanecs and Mexicans -- Acolnahuacatl
proclaimed Emperor -- Quinantzin's Victories -- Battle at
Poyauhtlan -- Quinantzin again Emperor -- Toltec Institutions
at Tezcuco -- Events at Culhuacan -- Mexicans driven from
Chapultepec -- Alliance between Mexicans and Culhuas --
Religious Strife -- Foundation of Mexico -- Reign of the
Emperor Techotl -- Political Changes -- Ruin of the Culhua
Power -- Tezozomoc, King of Azcapuzalco -- Separation of
Mexicans and Tlatelulcas -- Acamapichtli II., King of Mexico
-- Quaquauhpitzahuac, King of Tlatelulco.

The last of the so-called foreign tribes that came into notice in Anáhuac, from out the confusion that followed the downfall of the Toltecs, was the Aztec, or Mexican, which settled at Chapultepec in the last years of the twelfth century.[VI-1] According to their traditions they set out on their migration from Aztlan together with the Nahuatlaca tribes, whose arrival has already been noticed; but were left behind by those tribes at Chicomoztoc, one of their first stopping-places. The migration of the Aztecs from Chicomoztoc is described much more fully than that of the tribes that preceded them; but in the details of this journey, so far as dates, names, and events are concerned, the traditions are inextricably confused. I have already expressed my opinion that some of these traditions may refer very vaguely to the pre-Toltec events in Nahua history, but that they chiefly refer to the movements of the Nahua, or Chichimec, tribes which occupied the Toltec provinces during the continuance of the empire, and which after a long struggle became powerful in and about the Valley of Mexico. We have no means of determining in a manner at all satisfactory whether Aztlan and Chicomoztoc were in Central America or in the region of Zacatecas and Jalisco; nor indeed of proving that they were not in Alaska, New Mexico, or on the Mississippi, although there is absolutely no evidence in favor of the latter locations; but we know at least that all the halting-places of the migrating tribes after Chicomoztoc were in the immediate vicinity of Anáhuac. The record as a whole is exactly what might be expected, were the traditions of half a dozen kindred bands respecting their wanderings about the central plateau, and efforts to establish themselves in permanent homes, united in one consecutive narrative; and I have little doubt that such was substantially the process by which the Spanish version of the Aztec migration was formed. Whatever the cause of the confusion that reigns in that version, it is utterly useless to attempt its clearing-up; and I dispose of the whole matter by simply presenting in a note the dates and successive halting-places attributed to this migration by the principal authorities; the opinions of these authorities respecting the location of Aztlan and Chicomoztoc have been previously given.[VI-2]

[Sidenote: THE AZTEC MIGRATION.]

Some of the events and circumstances connected with the migration, however, must be noticed, although there is little agreement as to the place or date of their occurrence. At Aztlan the Aztecs are said to have crossed each year a great river or channel to Teo-Culhuacan, to make sacrifices in honor of the god Tetzauh. Prompted by the cry of a bird, as has already been related, they left their home under command of Huitziton, or Huitzilopochtli, probably identical with Mecitl, or Mexi, whence was derived their name of Mexicas, or Mexicans. They seem to have left Aztlan about 1090, and to have settled in Chicomoztoc, after several halts, in 1116.[VI-3] Chicomoztoc, to which Brasseur adds the name Quinehuayan, was also on the bank of a river, and the Aztecs continued the profession of boatmen which they had practiced at Aztlan, being subject to a tyrannical monarch to whom the name of Montezuma is applied by some of the traditions. After the other Nahuatlaca tribes had separated themselves from the Aztecs by divine command, the leader, or high-priest, or god,--Huitzilopochtli--for the exact epoch of his death and deification it is impossible to determine--informed the latter that he had selected them as his peculiar people, for whom he destined a glorious future. He ordered them to abandon the name of Aztecs and adopt that of Mexicas, and to wear upon their forehead and ears a patch of gum and feathers, as a distinguishing mark, presenting them at the same time with arrows and a net as insignia.[VI-4] This separation at Chicomoztoc, or the Seven Caves, presents strong analogies to that which took place in Tulan Zuiva; it is not impossible that the events related are identical, the earlier portions of this tradition referring vaguely back to the primitive epochs of Nahua history, while the later portions relate the events which followed the Toltec destruction. After the separation, and while the Aztecs were yet at Chicomoztoc,[VI-5] an event occurred to which is traditionally referred the origin of the differences that in later years divided this people into two rival parties, the Mexicans and Tlatelulcas. Two small bundles mysteriously appeared among them one day when all were assembled; the first opened contained an emerald of extraordinary size and beauty, for the possession of which a quarrel ensued. The second bundle proved to contain nothing more attractive than a few common sticks, and the party into whose possession it fell deemed themselves most unfortunate, until Huitziton made known to them a novel process of producing fire by rubbing two sticks together.[VI-6] According to Brasseur's authorities one of the princes of Chicomoztoc, named Chalchiuh Tlatonac, was induced to depart with the Aztecs, assuming a rank second only to that of the high-priest Huitziton. It is also claimed that certain Toltec nobles with their followers, who had been driven from Chapultepec by the Chichimecs, joined their fortunes with those of the Aztecs at an early period of their migration, perhaps, however, before they left Aztlan.[VI-7]

[Sidenote: DEATH OF HUITZITON.]

After leaving Chicomoztoc, and while in Michoacan according to most authorities, although by some of them Huitzilopochtli is spoken of as a god long before, the aged high-priest Huitziton died or disappeared suddenly during the night. It is hinted that he was foully disposed of by the priesthood, through jealousy of his popularity and power; but whether responsible or not for his death, the priests resolved to take advantage of it to advance their own interests. Consequently the next morning a report was circulated that Huitziton had been called to take his place among the gods with the great Tetzauh, or Tezcatlipoca, who on his arrival had addressed to him the following craftily prepared speech: "Welcome brave warrior, and thanks for having so well served me and governed my people. It is time that thou take thy rest among the gods; return, then, to thy sons the priests and tell them not to be afflicted at thy absence; for although they may no longer behold thee, thou wilt not cease to be in their midst to guide and rule them from on high. For I will cause thy flesh to be consumed, that thy skull and bones may remain to thy sons as a consolation, that they may consult thee respecting the routes they have to follow and in all the affairs of government, and that thou mayest direct them and show unto them the land which I have chosen for them, where they will have a long and prosperous empire." Brasseur adds to the speech, "where they shall find a nopal growing alone on a rock in the midst of the waters, and on this nopal an eagle holding a serpent in his claws, there they are to halt, there will be the seat of their empire, there will my temple be built," although this is not given by Veytia or Torquemada, the authorities referred to by the abbé. The god also gave directions that the bones of Huitzilopochtli should be carried in an urn by the priests on their migration, or according to some authorities that an idol should be made and carried in an ark on the shoulders of four priests. The four priests were of course designated for the important position of _teomama_, or 'god-bearers,' who were to constitute the medium through which the idol should make known his commands to the people. The people dared make no opposition to the will of their god, and the plans of the crafty priests were most successfully carried out.

But an episode that is related of this period, indicates that the plots of the priests were perfectly comprehended by at least one person. This was Malinalxochitl, the sister, friend, or mistress of Huitziton, a brave princess who rendered great aid to the high-priest against the machinations of his foes. She was charged, however, probably by the hostile priests, with the possession of the black art. She could kill with a glance, turn the course of rivers, and transform herself into any form at will. After the death of Huitziton the priests, whose tricks she very likely tried to expose, resorted to their new divinity to rid themselves of Malinalxochitl. The idol from its ark was made to issue an order that the sorceress should be abandoned while asleep. With her followers she went to Mt Texcaltepec, where she afterwards founded the town of Malinalco, and bore a son named Copil, or Cohuitl, to whom she entrusted her revenge on the Mexicans.[VI-8]

While they were yet in Michoacan, on the banks of Lake Patzcuaro, a trouble is said to have occurred which resulted in the separation of the Tarascos from the Aztecs, and their settlement in this region. The tale, to which very little importance is to be attached, from the fact that the Tarascan language was different from the Aztec, is as follows: A number of men and women were bathing together, when the rest, at the instigation of the priests, took their clothing and departed. The bathers were obliged to improvise a dress, which pleased them so much that they retained it ever after in preference to the maxtli; but they never forgave the Aztecs, resolved to remain where they were, and even changed their language that they might have nothing in common with that people. Camargo's version is that in crossing a river a part of the travelers used their maxtlis to fasten together their rafts, and were forced to borrow the women's huipiles to cover their nakedness; and Veytia adds that so imperfectly did these garments perform their office that the rest of the tribe, shocked at the appearance of their companions, abandoned them in disgust, calling them Tarascos from a circumstance that has been already given.[VI-9]

[Sidenote: AZTECS AT TOLLAN AND ZUMPANGO.]

Quauhtlequetzqui seems to have been the priest who of the four assumed the highest rank after the death of Huitziton; and coming under his command or that of their idol through him expressed, to Coatepec in the vicinity of Tollan, the Mexicans, at the order of their god, stopped the current of the river so as to form a kind of lake surrounding the mountain. Their stay in this place was one of great prosperity and increase in population and wealth; here they placed the sacred ark in a grand temple; and here they were taught to make balls of india-rubber and initiated by the gods into the mysteries of the _tlachtli_, or game of ball, which afterward became their national diversion.[VI-10] But the will of Huitzilopochtli was made known that this fair land must be abandoned, and their wanderings recommenced. The people murmured and showed signs of revolt, but the god appeared before them in so frightful an aspect as to fill them with terror; some of the malcontents were found dead near the temple with their hearts cut out; the dam was broken, thus destroying the great charm of their new home; and finally the will of the leader was obeyed, though not apparently until several revolting chiefs with their followers had separated themselves from the main body.[VI-11]

At Tzompanco, now Zumpango on the northern lake, the Mexicans--not perhaps the main body, judging from the names given to the leaders--were most kindly received, possibly as allies in the wars waged by Tochpanecatl, the lord of that city. This lord's son Ilhuicatl married Tlacapantzin, a Mexican girl, and, as Brasseur states, the same lord gave his daughter Tlaquilxochitl as a wife to Tozcuecuex, the Aztec leader, at the same time giving to the Mexicans through her the possession of Tizayocan their next halting-place. From one of these marriages sprung Huitzilihuitl, who afterwards became, according to many authors, the first king, or ruler, of the Mexicans.[VI-12]

Several other intermarriages with tribes in Anáhuac are reported, and also some hostilities during the subsequent frequent changes of residence, but no important events are definitely reported before the arrival and settlement at Chapultepec in 1194 as already stated, although there is but little agreement in the dates, many traditions assigning the arrival to a much later period. As has been before stated, these traditions refer to different bands, and the disagreement in dates would be natural even if the chronology of the records had been correctly interpreted by the Spanish writers, which is not probable. There can be little doubt of the comparative accuracy of Brasseur's dates.

[Sidenote: THE AZTECS AT CHAPULTEPEC.]

At this period Nopaltzin was still on the throne of Tenayocan, but was succeeded in 1211 by Tlotzin Pochotl.[VI-13] Acolnahuacatl, called by the Spanish writers Acolhua II., reigned over the Tepanecs at Azcapuzalco; Culhuacan was governed successively after Achitometl by Icxochitlanex, Quahuitonal, Mazatzin, Cuetzal, Chalchiuh Tlatonac II., Tziuhtecatl, Xihuiltemoc, and Coxcoxtli, down to about the end of the thirteenth century; the Teo-Chichimecs, one of the invading bands that have so vaguely appeared in preceding annals together with the Nahuatlaca tribes, were settled at Poyauhtlan in the vicinity of Tezcuco, a source of great uneasiness to all the nations, although nominally friends of the emperor Tlotzin; and Quinantzin, the son of Tlotzin, was chief lord at Tezcuco and heir to the imperial throne.[VI-14] The Aztecs meantime fortified their naturally strong position at Chapultepec, and in 2 Acatl, 1195, celebrated the completion of their cycle.[VI-15] Huitzilihuitl, in spite of the sacerdotal opposition was made chief, or as some say, king; the scattered Mexican bands, and even the main body of the Mexicans under the high priest Quauhtlequetzqui, or his successor of the same name, came to join those of Chapultepec; and the colony began to assume some importance in the eyes of the surrounding monarchs. The king of Azcapuzalco sought to make the Mexicans his vassals, desiring their aid as warriors, but Huitzilihuitl proudly refused to pay tribute. Their first war, something over thirty years after their arrival, was with Xaltocan, against which province they had aided the lord of Zumpango when first they entered the valley. The armies of Xaltocan, under Huixton, attacked and defeated the Aztecs near Chapultepec, forcing them to retreat within their fortifications, acting probably by the encouragement of the Tepanecs.[VI-16] According to Brasseur's authorities, the Tepanecs again proposed an alliance, and on refusal, marched with their own army, and soldiers from other nations, against Chapultepec, and at last forced Huitzilihuitl to submit to the payment of tribute.[VI-17] Before yielding, however, the Mexican chief sent ambassadors to Quinantzin at Tezcuco, offering him the allegiance of his people and asking aid; but the Tezcucan lord was not in condition to help them, and advised them to submit temporarily to Acolnahuacatl,[VI-18] which they did about 1240.

[Sidenote: REIGN OF THE EMPEROR QUINANTZIN.]

The reign of Tlotzin, the Chichimec emperor, was, for the most part, one of great prosperity, although his enemies were constantly on the watch for an opportunity to overthrow his power. He seems to have used his influence against a tendency exhibited by the Chichimecs to a rudeness of manners, and independence of all control, which threatened, in his opinion, a relapse into comparative barbarism. He favored rather the elegance of Toltec manners, and the strictness of Toltec discipline. In his efforts for reform he was seconded, or even excelled, by his son, Quinantzin, lord of Tezcuco. Ixtlilxochitl tells us that Tlotzin, soon after his ascension, made a long tour of inspection through his territory, correcting abuses and enforcing the laws, but exciting thereby the enmity of some vassal lords. Tenayocan was properly the Chichimec capital, but the emperor spent much of his time at Tezcuco, which had become one of the finest cities in Anáhuac. For the embellishment of this city, many Toltecs are said to have been called in from various towns, by the orders of Quinantzin. Some of the officers placed in charge of the parks and public works of Tezcuco, particularly Icuex and Ocotox, abused their trust, were banished, headed revolts, and were defeated by Quinantzin. About this time Tlotzin formed a new monarchy at Tezcuco, abdicating his own rights there and giving the crown to his son, Quinantzin. Another son, Tlacateotzin, was given the province of Tlazalan, subject to the crown of Tezcuco, and still other sons, Tochintecuhtli and Xiuhquetzaltzin, were made by Tlotzin, rulers of Huexotzinco and Tlascala, indicating that the eastern plateau was at this time a part of the empire, though it is not probable that a very strict allegiance was enforced. As monarch, Quinantzin, from his royal palace of Oztoticpac, labored more earnestly and successfully than before for a return to the old Toltec civilization, thus exciting the opposition of many Chichimec nobles, and preparing the way for future disasters. Tlotzin became, at last, so fond of his son's beautiful home, that he practically abandoned Tenayocan, appointing Tenancacaltzin, probably his brother, to rule in his stead. The newly appointed lieutenant had no fondness for Toltec reform, became secretly the chief of the opposition to the emperor, and only awaited an opportunity to declare his independence. Tlotzin Pochotl, at last, after an illness whose chief feature is said to have been a profound melancholy, was carried, at his request, to Tenayocan, where he died in 1246, after appointing Quinantzin as his heir. His funeral was accompanied with great pomp and display; all the kings of Anáhuac, both friends and foes, assisting in the ceremonies, and eulogizing his character.[VI-19]

Taking the title of Chichimecatl Tecuhtli, or Emperor of the Chichimecs, Quinantzin transferred the capital to Tezcuco, re-appointing, it would seem, Tenancacaltzin as ruler of Tenayocan. He immediately annexed the powers of Huexotla and Coatlichan to his dominion, forcing the princes of those cities, Tochintecuhtli, or Ihuimatzal, and Huetzin II., to reside in his capital, and forming from the three kingdoms that of Acolhuacan. As emperor, he gave freer vent than ever to his old inclinations to pomp and ceremony. Whenever he appeared in public he caused himself to be borne in a magnificent royal palanquin on the shoulders of four Chichimec nobles. The ill-will which Quinantzin's strict discipline and Toltec inclinations had previously excited; the fears aroused by his annexation of Huexotla and Coatlichan, and other decided political measures; displeasure of those of Tenayocan at the change of capital; and the humiliation of the Chichimec nobles, in being obliged to bear the royal palanquin, soon resulted in a revolution. By the support of the Tepanec king at Azcapulzalco, Tenancacaltzin was proclaimed emperor at Tenayocan, and all Anáhuac, save Culhuacan, Coatlichan, Xaltocan, and Huexotla, were arrayed against the Tezcucan monarch, many of his own relatives joining in the movement against him, and his brother, Tlacateotzin, being driven from the dominion of Tlazalan. In so unequal a struggle Quinantzin seems to have made no effort to overthrow the usurper, but rather to have employed all the force that could be furnished by his remaining vassals in fortifying his position at Tezcuco, where he patiently awaited future opportunities for revenge and recovery of his imperial throne.[VI-20]

[Sidenote: TENANCACALTZIN USURPS THE THRONE.]

Acolnahuacatl, the Tepanec king, seems to have supported the usurpation of Tenancacaltzin not from any feelings of friendship, but from ambitious motives for his own interests. He took no steps to accomplish the conquest of Tezcuco, but on the contrary soon began to plot against the usurping emperor. He made use of the Mexicans, who had suffered much from the people of Tenayocan and were eager for vengeance, to accomplish his purpose. Reinforced by some Tepanec troops in Aztec dress, they made several raids for plunder against Tenayocan and the adjoining towns. Thus provoked, Tenancacaltzin marched with an army to punish the robbers, but was met at Tepeyacac, where now the church of Guadalupe stands, by the Mexicans and Tepanecs combined, and utterly defeated. The conquered emperor fled to Xaltocan, expecting aid from the enemies of the Mexicans, but the princes of Xaltocan were also friends of Quinantzin, to whom they delivered Tenancacaltzin, but who refused to revenge his wrongs upon his uncle, and permitted him to leave the country. The Tepanec king took possession of Tenayocan and had himself declared emperor of the Chichimecs, Quinantzin apparently making at first no opposition, but awaiting a more favorable opportunity to regain his power.[VI-21]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: QUINANTZIN CHICHIMEC EMPEROR.]

I now come to the chain of events by which Quinantzin regained the imperial throne and a power surpassing that of any preceding monarch. The northern provinces of Meztitlan, Tulancingo, and Totoltepec, excited by the rebels Icuex and Ocotox, formerly banished by Quinantzin, raised the standard of revolt and marched to attack the capital. They were even joined by the four eldest sons of the king, according to Brasseur and Ixtlilxochitl, although other authorities make this rebellion a distinct and later affair, and disagree somewhat as to the time of the northern rebellion. Dividing his available force into four divisions, Quinantzin took command of one division, entrusting the others to his brothers Tochintzin, or Tochintecuhtli, and Nopaltzin, and to Huetzin II. of Coatlichan, while his son Techotl remained in command at Tezcuco. All the divisions were equally successful and the rebels were driven back with great loss. Nopaltzin killed Ocotox in personal combat but was himself killed later in the battle. The king's rebel sons had not actually taken part in the fight, and on offering their submission were, at the intercession of their mother, pardoned, on condition of leaving Anáhuac and joining the Teo-Chichimecs on the eastern plateau. This success in the north was not without its effect in the valley. Many cities that had declared their independence, or had become subjects of Acolnahuacatl, now offered anew their allegiance to the monarch of Acolhuacan at Tezcuco. Congratulations flowed in from Culhuacan and other friendly powers, with various plausible excuses for not having aided Quinantzin in his time of trouble. Prisoners taken during the war were released, and some of the lords of the northern provinces were even restored to their former positions on promise of future loyalty. Thus the wise king laid the foundations of future success. The pardoned sons of Quinantzin, before proceeding to Tlascala and Huexotzinco, joined the Teo-Chichimecs at Poyauhtlan. This people, by their encroachments, had made enemies of all the nations of Anáhuac; it is even said that they had instigated the northern revolt in the hope that the formation of a league against themselves might be prevented. But this hope was vain, and soon after Quinantzin's victory, they were attacked before their city by the united forces of the Tepanecs, Culhuas, Xochimilcas, and Mexicans. A battle ensued described as the most terrible ever fought in the valley, in which the Teo-Chichimecs held their ground, but which so exhausted the forces on both sides that it was long before any nation concerned was in condition to renew hostilities. The king of Acolhuacan seems not to have taken part in this struggle, perhaps because of the presence of his sons at Poyauhtlan and the fact that his relatives were ruling the Teo-Chichimecs in Tlascala. The state of affairs was now altogether favorable to Quinantzin, and after, as some authors state, another campaign against the northern provinces, he began to turn his attention toward his lost dominions about the lakes. The emperor Acolnahuacatl, at Tenayocan, seems to have clearly perceived that fortune favored his rival, and that in his exhausted condition since the battle at Poyauhtlan, he could not possibly defend either the imperial crown or even that of Azcapuzalco, and craftily resolved to voluntarily abandon his claims to the former in the hope of retaining the latter. His plans, as usual, were successful; Quinantzin accepted his proposition without any manifestation of ill-will, and was crowned emperor with the most imposing ceremonies in 1272, forming a friendly alliance with the kings of Culhuacan and Azcapuzalco, and becoming practically the master of Anáhuac. The Teo-Chichimecs soon after, by the advice of their god, and with the consent of the emperor, migrated eastward to Tlascala.[VI-22]

In his efforts to embellish his capital, and to restore his empire to the glory and his subjects to the culture of the ancient times, it has been stated that Quinantzin called in the aid of many Toltecs, showing them great favor. A few years after his accession, two of the Toltec tribes that had left the valley at the fall of the empire and settled on the coast of the Pacific in Oajaca, the Tailotlacs and Chimalpanecs, are said to have returned and to have been received by the emperor and granted lands in Tezcuco, after having stayed some time in Chalco. The new chiefs were even allowed to become allied by marriage to the royal family. The new-comers seem to have belonged to the partisans of Tezcatlipoca. Additional bands of Huitznahuacs, Tepanecs, Culhuas, and Mexicans, from distant lands, are also vaguely alluded to as having settled in Tezcuco, Azcapuzalco, and Mexico.[VI-23] About the same time the northern province of Tepepulco revolted, according to Torquemada,[VI-24] and was conquered by Quinantzin, spoken of as Tlaltecatzin by this and several other writers. The province was joined to the dominions of Tezcuco under a royal governor, its lord having been put to death. Another source of prosperity for Tezcuco seems to have been a fresh out-burst in Culhuacan of the old religious dissensions between the partisans of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, causing many of the inhabitants to make their homes in the Acolhua capital where they were gladly received; although Ixtlilxochitl tells us that Quinantzin erected no temples in his capital, and permitted the erection of none, being content, and obliging all the citizens to be so, with the simple religious rites of his Chichimec ancestors.[VI-25] Xihuiltemoc, a descendant of Acxitl, the last king of Tollan, was on the throne of Culhuacan at this time, and seems to have formed some kind of an alliance with the Mexicans at Chapultepec, and to have admitted to his city the worship of Huitzilopochtli--a fact that leads Brasseur to think that the Culhua king was a partisan of Tezcatlipoca, almost identical with Huitzilopochtli so far as the bloody rites in his honor are concerned.[VI-26] In the last years of the thirteenth century, about 1281, Xihuiltemoc was succeeded by Coxcoxtli whose mother is said to have been a Mexican, but who was a devoted partisan of Quetzalcoatl.[VI-27]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: THE AZTECS LEAVE CHAPULTEPEC.]

The Aztecs had, in the meantime, gained much in power, and although few in numbers, compared with the other nations, had, by their skill as warriors and the ferocity of their character, made themselves hated by all, becoming, indeed, the pests of Anáhuac, although nominally the allies of the Culhuas and Tepanecs. The story of their overthrow at Chapultepec is a brief one, as told by the Spanish writers. Copil, son of Huitziton's sister, the sorceress Malinalxochitl, had, as has been already related,[VI-28] been sworn by his mother to vengeance on the Mexicans. He now came to the lake region and used all his influence to excite the surrounding nations against his enemies, denouncing them as everything that is bad, and urging their extermination. Hearing of his plots, the priest Quauhtlequetzqui went with a party to Tepetzingo, where Copil was, killed him, tore out his heart and threw it into the lake. The place was known as Tlalcocomocco, and here afterwards sprang up the tunal which guided the Aztecs in founding their city; here was also a hot spring, called Acopilco. Immediately after this the Aztecs were attacked by many nations, chiefly the Culhuas and Chalcas, driven to Acoculco, amid the reeds of the lake, and many of their number carried captives to Culhuacan, among whom was their chief, Huitzilihuitl, who was sacrificed. Afterwards they were given, by the Culhuas, the district of Tizaapan, which abounded in snakes, lizards, etc., on which chiefly they lived, paying heavy tribute to the king of Culhuacan, and leading a very hard life for many years.[VI-29]

Brasseur throws much light upon the events of this period. It seems that the Aztecs provoked Copil's efforts for their destruction by two raids against Malinalco, which belonged to Culhuacan, and that the Mexicans treacherously drew the son of Malinalxochitl into their power by offering him the position of high-priest, according to a pretended revelation of Huitzilopochtli's will. His daughter, Azcaxochitl, was forced to become the mistress of Quauhtlequetzqui; all his nobles were taken prisoners, and a band of Culhuas who came to Tlalcocomocco soon after, were massacred. All the rulers of the valley, save, perhaps, Quinantzin, were soon leagued together for the destruction of these marauders and butchers. Huitzilihuitl made a valiant and long-continued defence, defeating the Tepanecs in a fierce battle, but exciting renewed horror by murdering and cutting in pieces Acolnahuacatl, king of Azcapuzalco, and formerly emperor. They were at last conquered through their rash bravery, since, while their army was fighting the Culhuas whom they had been challenged to meet, another body of the enemy took and burned Chapultepec, carrying off the surviving inhabitants as prisoners. The Mexican army was then defeated, nearly exterminated, and the remnants scattered in the lake marshes, while Huitzilihuitl was taken, and, with his daughter and sister, put to death in revenge for the murder of Copil and the Tepanec king. These events occurred about 1297. For two years the scattered Mexican remnants were subjected to every indignity, but in 1299, perhaps through the influence of Acamapichtli, his son and heir, Coxcoxtli was induced to grant this unfortunate people the small, barren, and serpent-infested isle of Tizaapan.[VI-30]

[Sidenote: WAR WITH THE XOCHIMILCAS.]

The Spanish writers do not imply that Acolnahuacatl, king of the Tepanecs, was killed by the Aztecs, or that he even fell in battle. His son, Tezozomoc, was heir to the throne, but as he was very young, his mother seems to have ruled as regent during his minority, and as she was the wife of Coxcoxtli, the power was practically in the hands of the Culhua monarch.[VI-31] Coxcoxtli thus saw his power in Anáhuac largely increased, but he was continually annoyed with petitions from the Mexicans for larger territory and permission to settle at various points in his dominions, and at the same time harassed by the encroachments of the Xochimilcas, particularly in the lake fisheries. He at last proposed to grant the requests of the Aztecs on condition that they would aid him in chastising the insolent and powerful Xochimilcas. The services of the followers of Huitzilopochtli were always in demand when there was fighting to be done. The secret plan of the king was to place the new allies in the front to receive the force of the attack; the heavier their loss the better, for his troops would have an easy victory, and a dead Aztec was a much less troublesome neighbor or subject than a live one. No arms were supplied to the allies, but their priests taught them to make shields of reeds, and arm themselves with clubs and obsidian knives. By a strange freak of fancy they resolved to retain no captives, though a reward was offered for them, but to disarm and release all they captured after having marked them by cutting off the right ear of each. The fury of their attack and their novel method of warfare struck terror into the hearts of the enemy, who were defeated and driven back to their capital in confusion, the Mexicans obtaining much plunder, and the Culhuas an extraordinary number of prisoners. Returning to Culhuacan, the Culhua braves proudly displayed their captives, ridiculing their allies, until the latter pointed out the lack of ears among the victims of Culhua valor, and calmly produced the missing features from their sacks; the effect was complete, and they carried off the honors of the day. Coxcoxtli was proud of such allies, their petitions were granted, and the two nations were also connected by intermarriage.[VI-32]

[Sidenote: THE MOTHER OF THE GODS.]

The history of the Mexicans and Culhuas, during the early part of the fourteenth century, down to the founding of the city of Tenochtitlan in 1325, presents a confusion unequaled, perhaps, in any other period of the aboriginal annals. A civil war on the eastern plateau at Cholula, in which king Coxcoxtli was involved to a certain extent, will be mentioned elsewhere, as it only slightly concerns the general history of Anáhuac. Torquemada, Clavigero, and others, relate that after the battle with the Xochimilcas, the Aztecs had secreted four captives destined for sacrifice, and had, besides, asked the Culhua king to provide them with a suitable offering and to be present at the ceremonies. They were sent a dead body and a mass of filth which the Mexicans, restraining their anger at the insult, placed upon the altar and said nothing. When Coxcoxtli and his suite appeared, the priests, after a religious dance, brought out the four captives and performed the bloody rites of sacrifice before the guests. The Culhuas left the place in disgust, and orders were immediately given that the Mexicans should be driven from the territories of Culhuacan.[VI-33] As Acosta and Duran tell the story, the Aztecs sent from Tizaapan, where it seems many of them were still living, to the Culhua king, requesting him to give them his daughter to rule over them and be the mother of their god. The request was cheerfully granted and the young princess conducted with great pomp to the town of her future subjects. A great festival was prepared, the princess was privately sacrificed to Huitzilopochtli, who, it seems, had signified his intention of adopting her as his mother; her body was flayed, and her skin placed as a garment on a youth, or an idol, which was set up in the temple to receive the offerings of visitors. Among those who came to make such offerings, as a compliment to their allies, were Coxcoxtli and his nobles. Their rage at the sight that met their eyes may be imagined. The bloody followers of Huitzilopochtli were driven from their homes, and the allies their bravery had gained were lost to them.[VI-34] Ixtlilxochitl, without mentioning their return to Culhua favor by the Xochimilco war, says that the Aztecs escaped from their bondage at Culhuacan on hearing that king Calquiyauhtzin intended to massacre them, and resided, for a time, at Iztacalco, whence they made inroads upon Culhua territory, but finally retreated to the island where Tenochtitlan was founded.[VI-35] I append in a note an abstract of Veytia's version of Nahua history during this and the immediately preceding period, since this version agrees with others at but few points.[VI-36]

Hardly more can be gathered from the preceding records than that the Mexicans, after living for a time in Culhuacan, were forced, on account of their bloody religious rites and of their turbulent disposition, to leave that city, and to wander for several years about the lake before settling where the city of Mexico afterwards stood. Coxcoxtli is said to have been a devoted follower of Quetzalcoatl, and a zealous persecutor of all other sects, so much so, that many families were forced to abandon Culhuacan, and were gladly received at Tezcuco, as has been stated. It seems to have been an ineradicable Toltec tendency to indulge in religious controversy to the prejudice of their national prosperity. Brasseur[VI-37] finds in his documents many additional details of some importance respecting the period in question. The religious strife in Culhuacan broke out into open war between the sects of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, the former headed by the king and his son Achitometl, the latter under another son, Acamapichtli, and seconded by the Mexicans, who had been driven by persecution from the city. This is the alliance alluded to by Veytia, when he states that Acamapichtli, of Culhuacan, was chosen king of the Mexicans. The rebellious son, at the head of the Mexicans, was victorious, and compelled his father to flee from his capital, but did not at once assume the title of king, and was, not long after, in his turn defeated and driven from the city. This was the final departure of the Mexicans, most of whom gathered at Iztacalco, where a band of their nation had been for some years residing, under the chief Tenuch. Many, however, settled at other points near at hand on the lake shores and islands, and to this period is attributed also their invention of the Chinampas, or floating gardens.

[Sidenote: FOUNDATION OF MEXICO.]

The localities thus occupied at this period, simultaneously or successively, besides Iztacalco, were Mexicaltzinco, Acatzintitlan, Mixiuhtlan, and Temazcaltitlan. At last the priests selected what they deemed a suitable place for permanent settlement, the same spot where Copil had been sacrificed, an island, or raised tract in the lake marshes, and pretended to find there the nopal, eagle, and serpent which had been promised by their god as a token that the proper location had been found. The nopal grew on a rock in the midst of a beautiful pool, into which one of the two discoverers was instantly drawn, and admitted to an interview with the Tlalocs, who confirmed the belief that here was to be their permanent home. According to some authorities, a title to this site was obtained from the king of Azcapuzalco. The first task was to erect a rude temple of rushes for the ark of the idol Huitzilopochtli, which was located exactly over the stone which bore the famous nopal; the huts of the people were built around this as a centre, divided by divine command into four wards, or districts. Then all set industriously to work, the men leveling and filling in the site of their town, or fishing and killing wild ducks on the lakes, the products being mostly bartered by the women in the cities of the main land, for stone and wood for building material. The first victim sacrificed to the god in his new temple was a Culhua noble, of hostile sect, opportunely captured.[VI-38] Thus was founded, in 1325,[VI-39] the city named--probably from Mexi, the original name of Huitziton, and Tenuch, their chief leader at the time the city was formed--Mexico Tenochtitlan.[VI-40]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: DEATH OF QUINANTZIN.]

Quinantzin continued in his glorious career at Tezcuco, allowing the surrounding kings to weaken their power by their intrigues and contentions one with another, while he devoted all his energies as a diplomatist, and all the strength of his armies to the strengthening of his imperial power, the enlargement and embellishment of his capital, where refugees from all directions were kindly welcomed, the quelling of rebellion in various provinces, and the conquest of new lands. Not only did he promptly put down every attempt at revolt in his own dominions, but insisted that the kings of Culhuacan and Azcapuzalco should check the attempts of their revolting vassals. Huehuetlan, Mizquic, Cuitlahuac, Zayollan, Temimiltepec, and Totolapan, are named as the rebellious provinces thus subdued during the last years of this emperor's reign. No monarch in Anáhuac could have resisted Quinantzin's power, but he seems to have had no disposition to encroach on what he deemed the legitimate domains of his brother sovereigns. In spite of the opposition of the Chichimec nobles to his reforms, his tendency to Toltec usages, and his fondness for display, the emperor after his power had become firmly established enjoyed the love and respect of all his subjects. His surname, Tlaltecatzin, 'he who lords the earth,' is said to have been given him in consideration of his success in subduing so many provinces. He died in 8 Calli, 1305,[VI-41] at an advanced age, and his funeral ceremonies were conducted with all the pomp that had been characteristic of him in life. Seventy rulers of provinces are said to have assisted. His body, embalmed, was seated in full royal apparel on the throne, an eagle at the feet, a tiger at the back, and the bow and arrows in his hands. All the people crowded to the palace to take a last look upon their emperor, and after eighty days, according to Torquemada, his body was burned, and the ashes, in an emerald urn with a golden cover, placed in a cave near Tezcuco; or, as Veytia and Ixtlilxochitl say, buried in a temple of the Sun in the Tezcocingo forest.[VI-42]

[Sidenote: LIMITS OF THE CHICHIMEC EMPIRE.]

Quinantzin's elder sons having proved rebellious during their father's reign, and having, therefore, been banished, his youngest son, Techotl, Techotlalatzin, or Techotlala, was chosen as his successor. Techotl reigned from 1305 to 1357, a period during which the dominions attached to the crown of Tezcuco were almost entirely undisturbed by civil or foreign wars. Only one war is recorded, by which the province of Xaltocan, peopled chiefly by Otomís, with the aid of the chiefs of Otompan, Quahuacan, and Tecomic, attempted to regain her independence of Chichimec imperial authority. The revolt was, however, promptly repressed by the emperor and his allies after a campaign of two months. Tezozomoc had now succeeded to the throne of Azcapuzalco, and with his Tepanec forces, took a very prominent part in this war against Xaltocan and the northern provinces. The Mexicans also sent an army to this war, and received some territory as a result, the rest of the provinces being joined to the domains of Tezcuco and Azcapuzalco.[VI-43] Techotl's tastes and ambitions were similar to those of his father, and his fifty-two years of peaceful and prosperous reign enabled him to successfully carry out his projects. To him, as emperor, belonged the allegiance of the kings of Culhuacan, Azcapuzalco, and Mexico in the latter part of his rule, when the latter power had risen to some prominence; but no tribute was paid by these kings, and their allegiance was probably only nominal.[VI-44] Over the provinces that belonged to Tezcuco, or rather the kingdom of Acolhuacan, Techotl ruled in precisely the same manner as the other kings over their respective territories. The lord of each province acknowledged his allegiance to his king, paid tribute according to the wealth of his people, and was bound to aid his sovereign, if so requested, in time of war; in other respects he was perfectly independent, and governed his dominion with almost absolute sway. The long list of vassal provinces and lords given by the records[VI-45] show that the authority of the Chichimec emperor extended far beyond Anáhuac, but do not enable us to fix definitely its limits; it probably was but little less extensive than that of the emperor at Culhuacan, in Toltec times, and was very similar to the Toltec rule in its nature.[VI-46] Techotl's efforts seem to have been directed to the complete re-establishment of Toltec culture; to the building-up and embellishment of his capital; to the enacting of just laws and their strict enforcement by the appointment of the necessary courts and officials; to the work of attracting new settlers into his kingdom and capital, by kind treatment of all new-comers, and a toleration of all their religious beliefs and rites; and above all, to the centralization of his imperial power, and the gradual lessening of the prerogatives of his vassal lords. The refugees from different nations were given separate wards of Tezcuco for a residence, and were permitted to erect temples, and to perform all their various rites. Human sacrifice and religious strife were alone prohibited. The different creeds and ceremonials of Toltec times became almost universal in his kingdom,[VI-47] although the emperor himself is said to have ridiculed all these creeds and sacrifices, contenting himself with the worship of one god, of whom he deemed the sun a symbol. He is credited with having entertained sentiments on religious topics several centuries in advance of his time.

In his efforts for the centralization of the Chichimec power, he first summoned the chief lords of his provinces, some twenty-six in number, to Tezcuco, and practically compelled them to live there, although heaping upon them honors and titles which made it impossible for them to refuse obedience to his wishes. All together constituted a royal council, consulted on matters of national import; and from them were selected sub-councils, to whose management were entrusted the superintendence of various branches, such as the administration of justice, military regulations, art and science, agriculture, etc. Five of the leading lords were entrusted with the most important and honorable positions, and placed at the head of the chief councils.[VI-48] As an offset to the favors granted these lords at the capital and in the general government, their prerogatives at home were greatly diminished. The twenty-six provinces were subdivided into sixty-five departments; the lords retained their original titles and the absolute command of twenty-six of the departments, but over the other thirty-nine governors were placed who were supposed to be wholly devoted to the interests of the emperor. Techotl is even said to have gone so far as to transfer the inhabitants belonging to different tribes from one province to another, so that the subjects of each chief, although the same in number as before, were of different tribes, and, as the emperor craftily imagined, much less easily incited to revolt in the interests of ambitious chieftains, who were ever ready to take advantage of favorable circumstances to declare their independence. If the Chichimec nobles objected to these extraordinary measures, their opposition is not recorded.

[Sidenote: REIGN OF TECHOTL.]

At one of the grand assemblies of kings and lords, held at Tezcuco, to deliberate on the general interests of the empire, in 1342, Techotl announced his intention to leave his crown to his eldest son, Ixtlilxochitl, and caused that prince to be formally acknowledged as heir apparent to the imperial throne. It does not appear that any opposition to his succession was made at the time,[VI-49] although as we shall see, his right was not undisputed at the death of his father. At one of these assemblies, as all the authorities agree, it was ordered that the Nahua language should be employed exclusively at court, in the tribunals, and in the transaction of all public affairs. It has been inferred from this, by many writers, that the language of the Chichimec nations was different from that of the Toltecs;[VI-50] but such a supposition would be inconsistent with the whole tenor of the aboriginal annals, and cannot be admitted. Among the new tribes that occupied Anáhuac after the Toltecs, there were doubtless some that spoke another tongue; the enforced use of the Nahua at court was aimed at the chiefs of such tribes, and was a part of the emperor's general policy. Of course it is just possible that one of the tribes of foreign tongue had become powerful and constituted a large part of the population of Tezcuco, but such a state of affairs is not probable, and the statement of some writers that the many learned Culhuas and Mexicans gathered at the Chichimec capital during this period, came as teachers of the Nahua language at the court of Techotl, cannot be accepted. Brasseur's idea, as implied throughout this period of aboriginal history, that the Chichimecs were barbarians, gradually civilized by the few Toltecs that remained in the country, and forced by their kings to adopt Nahua language and institutions, I regard as wholly imaginary. The struggles of Quinantzin and his successors were directed, not to the introduction of Toltec usages, but to the preservation of their culture, threatened by the spirit of anarchy and independence that followed the downfall of the Toltec empire.

[Sidenote: DEATH OF TECHOTL.]

Feeling, at last, that his end was drawing near, and that the work to which he had devoted his energies must be committed to other hands, the aged monarch is reported to have held a long interview with his son and heir, Ixtlilxochitl. Most earnestly he instructed his son concerning his future duties, and warned him against dangers whose occurrence he already foresaw. He feared, above all, the projects of Tezozomoc, the Tepanec king, who had already, although nominally loyal to Techotl, shown tokens of far-reaching ambition and the possession of great executive ability, and who evidently remembered that Acolnahuacatl, his predecessor, had once been emperor. Special advice was given to Ixtlilxochitl, who was probably a very young man, although there is some disagreement about the date of his birth,[VI-51] as to the best policy to be followed with the king of Azcapuzalco, and after jealously striving to imbue his successor with the spirit that had made his own reign so glorious, the emperor died, as has been stated, in 8 Calli, 1357.[VI-52]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: AZTECS AT MEXICO TENOCHTITLAN.]

Having traced the glorious, though peaceful career of the emperor Techotl, I have to close this chapter by narrating the events of Culhua and Mexican history during a corresponding period; a period most fatal to Culhuacan, the metropolis of Anáhuac in Toltec times, and the only Toltec city that had retained its prominence through the dark days of Chichimec invasion. We have seen the Mexicans expelled from Culhuacan at the triumph of Achitometl over his brother Acamapichtli; and, after a series of wanderings about the lake, founding their city of Mexico Tenochtitlan in 1325. One year before the city was founded, however, Acamapichtli seems to have regained his power, and this time, his father Coxcoxtli having died, he assumed the title of king. His rule was probably very advantageous to the Mexicans, his friends, during their first years in their new city, while they were strengthening their position; but in 1336 he died, murdered, as some of the records imply, and was succeeded by his brother Achitometl II., the avowed enemy of the Mexicans and their religious rites. His accession drove many of the rival sect to Mexico, and he thus aided, involuntarily, in building up the new power. The infant son of the dead king, also named Acamapichtli, was saved either by his mother, or, as others say, by the princess Ilancueitl.[VI-53] During the troubles between the rival sects headed by Acamapichtli and Achitometl, large numbers of Culhuas had left their city and either taken refuge in Tezcuco, or had joined kindred tribes in different localities. On the final accession of Achitometl this depopulating movement was continued to a greater extent than ever before. According to Brasseur's documents, a war with Chalco in 1339, fomented by Tezozomoc, who had succeeded to the Tepanec throne eight years before, gave the finishing blow to the power of Culhuacan, which was practically abandoned by king and people about 1347, her weaker tributary provinces being in part appropriated by the stronger, which now became independent of all save imperial power, although a large portion fell into the hands of the kings of Azcapuzalco and Acolhuacan. The larger part of the Culhuas proper were divided between Quauhtitlan,--which soon became practically a Culhua, or Toltec, city, under Iztactototl, grandson of Coxcoxtli, who succeeded in 1348,--and Mexico.[VI-54]

The territory on which Mexico Tenochtitlan was built seems to have belonged to the domain of Azcapuzalco, and the Mexicans were obliged to pay to the Tepanec king a certain amount of tribute in fish and other productions of the lake. Their prosperity, the improvements they were constantly making in their city, and their strong position in the lake, taken in connection with their well-known valor and ambition, excited much jealousy among the surrounding nations. Possibly this jealousy is alluded to in the fable of a fatal epidemic which prevailed at this time, ascribed in the popular tradition to the fumes of fried fish and other delicacies, wafted from the island town, which created so violent a longing as to occasion illness.[VI-55] The Tepanecs were the only people that had the power to oppress the Aztecs, which they are said to have done, not only by the exaction of the regular tribute due them, but by imposing special taxes, to be paid in articles of no value to the receivers, but which could be obtained by the Mexicans only with great difficulty or danger.[VI-56] Brasseur says that Tezozomoc even went so far as to send his son Tlacotin to rule in Mexico after Tenuch's death, and he dying after a short time, another son, Teuhtlehuac, became governor.[VI-57] I find nothing in the Spanish writers respecting Tepanec governors in Mexico, although none of them give any very definite idea how the city was governed in the early period of its existence. Some authors mention Tenuch as one of the chiefs that directed the original Aztec migration; others, as we have seen, make him the chief of an Aztec band at Iztacalco, just before the founding of the city, and imply that he was the leader under the priesthood at the time of its foundation, and for some time after; while still other writers state that he was elected chief three years after the foundation.[VI-58]