The story of extinct civilizations of the West

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THE STORY OF

EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

OF THE WEST

THE STORY OF

EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS
OF THE WEST

BY

ROBERT E. ANDERSON, M.A., F.A.S

AUTHOR (1F "extinct CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EAST

' Venient annis saecula seris
Quibus Oceanus vincula renim
Laxet, et ingens pateat tellus,
Tethys que novos detegat orbes.

Seneca (v. pp. 18, 19).

HODDER AND STOUGHTON

LONDON, NEW YORK, TORONTO

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

Introduction 9

I. Pre-Columhian Discoveries of America 19

II. "Discovery of the World and of

Man" 36

III. The Extinct Civilization of the

Aztecs 55

IV. American Archaeology .... 72
V. Mexico before the Spanish Invasion 90

VI. Arrival of the Spaniards . , . 109

VII. Cortes and Montezuma . . . 138

VIII. Balboa and the Isthmus . . , 168

IX. Extinct Civilization of Peru . . 177

X. PlZARRO and the INCAS . . . I90

MAPS, Etc.

Prehistoric Structure, Uxmal

(Yucatan) ..... Frontispiece

PAGE

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

(Mass.) 27

The Dighton-Stone. Fig. 2 . . . . 28

Cipher Autograph of Columbus ... 47

Chulpa or Stone Tomb of the Peruvians . 90

quetzalcoatl 95

Ancient Bridge near Tezcuco . . . 102

Teocalli, Aztec Temple for Human Sacrifices 108

Monolith Doorway. Near Lake Titicaca.

Fig. I 178

Image over the Doorway shown in Fig. r.

Near Lake Titicaca. Fig. 2 . . . 179

The Quipu 184

Gold Ornament (? Zodiac) from a Tomb at

Cuzco 186

EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS
OF THE WEST

INTRODUCTION

Throughout all the periods of European history,
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 Chap. 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 " be-
lieved that this world on which we live and
move is flat and level. They did not at all
realise the fact that it is da//-sha.ped ; and that

9

lo EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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"
travelling 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 sufficient
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,
being 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
disc know, or ought to know, that the earth is
ball-shaped. Another reason given by Aristotle
is that the altitude 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^°, it is
evident that 2^° is the difference (increase) of
altitude at York compared with London. Such
an observation 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 traveller, yet his
only conception of the world was as a flat wide-
extending surface. In Egypt he was told how

OF THE WEST. II

Pharaoh Necho had sent a crew of Phoenicians to
explore the coast of Africa by starting from the
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
cannot 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," with-
out knowing it. If Herodotus had known that
the world was spherical or ball-shaped, he could
easily have understood that by travelling due
south the sun must at last appear at noon to the
north instead of the south. A counterpart to the
story of the Phoenician 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 won-
dered, 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 mediaeval times, as we shall
presently see, but to place a continent in the
Southern Ocean was a greater stretch of imagina-
tion. The great outstanding problem of the
sources of the Nile probably suggested this
Southern Continent to some. Ptolemy, the great

12

EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

Egyptian geographer, even formed the conjecture
that the Southern Continent was joined to Africa
by a broad isthmus, as indicated in certain maps.
Such a connection of the two continents would at
once dispose of the story that the Phoenician
sailors had "doubled the Cape." In several

maps after the
time of Colum-
bus, Australia is
extended west-
ward in order to
pass muster for
the Southern
Continent.

It is with a
Western Conti-
nent, however,
that we are now
mainly c o n-
cerned. What
lands were im-
agined 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 neart 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 speaking of the horrors of the great
ocean beyond. " Beyond Gades," i.e. scarcely

Ir laginary Continent, south of Africa and
Asia. [The cardinal points are shown by the
four winds.] Beginning of the 15th century.
The word Brumae = the winter solstices.

OF THE WEST. 13

outside of the Pillars 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 sun-
sets, 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 limit Zeus assigned
A life, a seat, distinct from human kind,
Beside the deepening whirlpools of the Main,
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
blow, and flowers gleam with gold, some from
the land on glistering tress, while others the

14 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 labours 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 pre-historic discovery of America,
In any case it has exercised the ingenuity of a
good many modern scientists. The tale of
Atlantis 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 Phoenician 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

OF THE WEST. 15

one deluge whereas there have been many destruc-
tions 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. . . . After-
wards came a day and night of great floods and
earthquakes ; 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
American continent, or as a huge island in the
ocean which could have served as a stepping-
stone between 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 1000 fathoms, while the valleys east and
west of it average 3000 fathoms. At the Azores
the North Atlantic ridge becomes broader, "rhe
theory is that a part of the ridge-plateau was the
Atlantis of Plato that "disappeared swallowed by
the waves." [JVaiure, xv. 158, 553, xxvii. 25;
Science, 29th June 1883.)

Buffon, the naturalist, with reference to Fauna
and Flora, dated the separation of the new and
old world " from the catastrophe of Atlantis "

i6 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

{Epoques, ix. 570); and Sir Charles Lyell con-
fessed a temptation to " accept tlie theory of
an Atlantis island in the northern Atlantic"
{Geology, p. 141)-

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 unmeasureable ;
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 allusion 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 con-
tinent by which the great sea is circularly environed
is distant from Ogygia about 5000 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 Flysian Fields of Homer.

The ("jreek historian, Diodorus Siculus, has a
similar account with curious details of an
" island " which might very well have been

OF THE WEST. 17

part of a continent. 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. . . . 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 supply
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 eighteenth
century the limit of Piccadilly westward was a
tavern at Hyde Park corner called the Hercules'
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 vessel
from Carthage or Phoenicia might easily have
been driven by an easterly gale into, or even
across, the Atlantic. Some involuntary dis-
coveries 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

* Tom Jones, xvi., chaps. 2, 3, etc.
» B

1 8 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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,
marvellous and mysterious.

In English literature of the Middle Age 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
historians 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 favourite 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

OF THE WEST. 19

has been characterised as "a lucky prophecy"
— written in the first century a.d. The author,
Seneca, was a dramatist as well as a philosopher,
the lines occurring at the end of one of his
choruses, Medea, 376. We may thus English the
prophetic stanza :

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."
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,

20 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 reinforced by Norwegians who
took refuge there to avoid the tyranny of their
king, Harold, the Fair-haired. Ingolf built the
town Ingolfshof, named after him, and also
Reikiavik, afterwards 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 i:)opulation amounted to 60,000.

Ingolf was admired by the poet James Mont-
gomery (not to be confounded with Robert, whom
Macaulay criticised so severely), who in 18 19
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,
Gunnbiorn, 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 awav which was called " Mickle Ireland"
{Irland it Mikla) — [Winsor's Hist. America., i. 61].

Gunnbiorn's discovery was utilised by Erik the
Red, another sea-rover, in a.d. 9S0, who sailed
to it and, after three years' stay, returned with a
favourable account — giving it the fair name

OF THE WEST.

21

Greenland. The Norse established two centres
of population on Greenland. It is now believed
that after doubling Cape Farewell, they built
their first town near that head and the second
further north. The former, Eystribygd {i.e.
" Easter Bigging ") developed into a large colony,
having in the fourteenth century 190 settlements,
with a cathedral and eleven churches, and con-
taining two cities and three or four monas-
teries. The
second town,
IVestribygd {i.e.
" Wester Bigg-
ing ") had grown
to ninety settle-
ments and four
churches in the
same time.

The germ and
root of that civi-
lization (after-
wards extinct, as

Remains of a Norse Church at Katortuk,
Greenland.

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. He
found that the king and people there had
enthusiastically embraced the new religion,
Christianity. Leif presently shared their fervour,
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 civili-
zation first found footing in Arctic America.
The ruins of those early Christian churches

22 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

(see illustration) form most interesting objects in
modern Greenland ; near the chief ruin is a curious
circular group of large stones.

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
bishopric ; and that the see was ruled by seven-
teen bishops from a.d. 1120 to 1408. Bishop
Andrew is the last mentioned, ordained in 1408
by the Archbishop 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 further within the
American continent. News had reached him of
a new land, with a level coast, lying nine days'
sailing 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 Hellula7id (i.e. " Stone
Land ") which appears to have been Newfound-
land. Further south they found a sandy shore,
backed by a level forest country, which Leif
named J/«;-/C'/rt//^ (z>. "Wood Land,") identified
with Nova Scotia. After two days' sail, accord-
ing to the Saga account, having landed and ex-

OF THE WEST. 23

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.
This country was therefore named Vinland {i.e.
"Wine Land,") and is identified with New
England, part of Rhode Island and Massa-
chusetts.*

Our Greenland poet thus refers to Leif's
landing :

" 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 community
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 160 men, having live stock and other colonial

* 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.]

EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST. 25

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 historians
that Thorwaldsen, the eminent Danish sculptor,
is descended. After the time of Thorfinn, the
settlement in Vinland continued to flourish, having
a good export trade in timber with Greenland.
In 1 121 A.D. according to the Icelandic Saga,
the bishop, Erik Upsi, visited Vinland, that country
being, like Iceland and Greenland, included in
his bishopric. The last voyage to Vinland for
timber, according to the Sagas, was in 1347.

Prof. Horsford of Cambridge, Mass., finds the
site of Norumbega, mentioned in various old
maps, on the river Charles near Waltham, Massa-
chusetts, and maintains that town to be identical
with Vinland of the Norsemen. To prove his
belief in tliis theory the professor built a tower
commemorating the Norse discoveries. He argued
that Norumbega was a corruption by the Indians
of the word JVorvegr, a Norse form of " Norway."

The abandonment of Vinland by the Norse
settlers may be compared with that of Gosnold's
expedition 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 (N. Carolina) ; and the coast explored
corresponded 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 Vine-

26 EXTINCT CI VI LIZA TIONS

yard, and the Elizabeth group. Selecting one
of these for settling a colony he built on it a
storehouse and fort. The scheme however failed,
owing to the threats of the natives and scarcity
of supplies, and all the colonists sailed from
Massachusetts, just as the Norse settlers had
done many generations previously.

The expedition of Gosnold to Vinland, how-
ever, bore good fruit, from the favourable 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 explored, 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. Further north, still in
Vinland, they soon founded two other towns,
"Salem" and "Boston." Those three settle-
ments have ever since been important centres of
energy and intelligence in Massachusetts, as well as
memorials of the Norse occupation of Vinland.

On the occasion of a public statue being erected
in Boston, U.S.A., to the memory of Leif Erikson,

OF THE WEST.

27

a committee of the Massachusetts Historical
Society formally decided thus : " It is ante-
cedently probable that the Northmen discovered
America in the early part of the eleventh century."
Professor Daniel Wilson in his learned work,

The Dighton-Stone in the Taunton river (Mass.)-

Prehistoric 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 favour of
the authenticity of the American Vinland.

Of the Norse colonies in Greenland there are
some undoubted remains, one being a stone
inscription in runes, proving that it was made
before the Reformation, when that mode of
writing was forbidden by law. The stone is
four miles beyond Upernavik. The inscription,
according to Prof. Rask, runs thus :

28

EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

" Erling the son of Sigvat, and Enride Oddsoen,
" Had cleared the place and raised a mound
" On the Friday after Rogation-day ;"

— date either 1 1 3 5 or 1 1 70.

Rafn, the celebrated Danish archeologist, states
as the result of many years research, that America
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

The Dighton-Stone. Fig. 2.

Carolina, everywhere introducing some Christian
civilization among the natives.

A supposed rock memorial of the Norsemen
is the Dighton-Stone in the Taunton river, Massa-
chusetts ; one of its sentences, according to Pro-
fessor Rafn, being :

"Thorfmnwith 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 antiquarians at the following dates :
1680, 1712, 1730, 1768, 1788, 1807, 1S12. The
above illustration (fig. 2) shows the last mentioned

OF THE WEST. 29

There have been many probable traces of
ancient Norsemen found in America, besides
those already given. At Cape Cod, in the last
generation, a number of hearth-stones were found
under a layer of peat. A more famous relic was
the skeleton dug up in Fall River, Massachusetts,
with an ornamental belt of metal tubes made
from fragments of flat brass ; there were also some
arrow-heads of the same material. Longfellow
the New England poet naturally had his attention
directed to this discovery (made, 1831), and
founded on it his ballad "The Skeleton in
Armour," connecting it with the "Round Tower"
at Newport. The latter, according to Professor
Rafn, " was erected decidedly 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 1 . . .
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,

30 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

And when the storm was o'er,
Cloud-Hke 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 !

Sir Clements Markham of the Royal Geog.
Society believes that the Norse settlers in Green-
land 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 \y. 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 flourished.
In 1568 and 1579 the King of Denmark sent two
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 observ-
able on the west coast. By the success of his
preaching among the Greenlanders for fifteen
years, assisted by other gospel-missionaries, the
Moravians were induced to found their settle-
ments in the country, principally in the south-
west.

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 "'i'hulc,"
and reports that there was no ice. If so, it is

OF THE WEST. 31

surely possible that Greenland also may have been
greener and more attractive than during the recent
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
of the highest peaks protrude to show the posi-
tion of the submerged mountains, but at former
periods, according to geologists, there were gardens
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
already glanced at the fact that when the Norse-
men first seized Iceland they found that island
inhabited 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 dis-
possessed Irish probably joined their brother
Celts who had already long held a district on the
eastern coast of N. 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 185 1,
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-
quarian, 1875, identified Mickle Ireland with

32 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

Ontario and Quebec. Beauvois, in his Elys^e
tratisatlantigue, derives the name Labrador from
the Innis Labrada, an island mentioned in an
ancient Irish romance.* Another Irish discoverer
was St Brandan,! Abbot of Cluainfert, Ireland
(died i6th May 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 com-
pany with seventy-five monks, and spent seven
years upon the ocean in two voyages, discover-
ing this island and many others equally mar-
vellous, including one which turned out to be the
back of a huge fish, upon which they celebrated
Easter. I

Among the Celtic claimants for discovery we
must also include the Welsh, who lay stress
upon certain resemblances between their lan-
guage and the dialects of the native Americans.
A better argument 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 11 70, after the rumour of the
Norse discoveries had reached Britain. He landed
on a vast and fertile continent where he settled
120 colonists. On his return to Wales he fitted
out a second fleet of ten ships, but the annals
give no re])ort of the result. Several writers
state that the place of landing was near the
Gulf of Mexico : Hakluyt connecting the dis-

* As to the Irish claim for the pre-Columbian discovery
of America, see also Humboldt (Cosmos, ii. 607), and
Laing [llcivisk., i. 1S6).

t I^IS. Book of I.ismore.

X The story is given by Humboldt and D'Avezac.

OF THE WEST. 33

covery with Mexico (1589) and again with the
West Indies (edition of 1600). In the seven-
teenth century some authors wished to sub-
stantiate the story of Prince Madoc, in order that
the British claim to America should antedate the
Spanish claim through Columbus. Prince Madoc
is, to most readers, only known by Southey's
poem.*

3. Basque Discovery of America. — Who are the
Basque people ? A curious race of Spanish
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.
Sebastian, 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.

Frangois Michel in his work Le Pays Basque says
that the Basque sailors knew the coasts of New-
foundland a century before the time of Columbus ;
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

* Some quotations from Southey's poem are given irx
Chaps. V. VI.

34 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

SO much resembles the American languages in
structure as the Basque."

4. Jetvish Discovery of A?nerica. — 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 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 Kings-
borough in the well-known " Mexican Anti-
quities" (1830-48), chiefly in Vol. VII. Some
writers actually quote a statement made in the
Mormon bible ! Leading New England divines
like Mayhew and Cotton Mather espoused the
cause with similar faith, as well as Roger Williams
and William Penn.

5, The Italia7i Discovery of America. — Not
through Columbus the Genoese, or Amerigo
Vespucci, the Florentine, although they were
certainly Italians, but by two Venetians, Nicolo
and Antonio Zeno. In a.d. 1380 or 1390 these
brothers Zeni were ship-wrecked in the North
Atlantic, and, when staying in Frislanda, made
the acquaintance of a sailor who, after twenty-

OF THE WEST. 35

six years' absence, 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, further 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
account to another brother in Venice, together
with a map of those distant regions, but these
documents remained neglected till 1558, when
a descendant compiled a book to embody the
information, 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 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,
distinctly accepted the Zeni narrative as true,
and believed that it was by colonists from Green-
land that the Latin books had reached Estotiland.
Another strong advocate afterwards 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

36 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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. Jour?iaI, 1873. — v. dXso Froc. 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.

CHAPTER II

" DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN"

At the beginning of this book a referencewas made
to the great upheaval in European history called
the "Renascence" (Fr. renaissatice) or Revival
of Learning. In 1453 the Turks took Constan-
tinople, 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, England and
Germany, being greatly assisted by the invention
of printing, which just then was beginning to
make books cheaper than they had ever been.
At the same time feudalism was ruined, because
the invention of gunpowder had previously been
changing the art of war. For example, the King
of France, Louis XL, as well as the King of Eng-
land, Henry VII., had entire disposal of the
national artillery ; and, therefore, overawed the

OF THE WEST. 37

barons and armoured knights. Neither moated
fortresses, nor mail-clad warriors, nor archers with
bow and arrows, could prevail against powder
and shot. The Middle Ages had come to an
end : modern Europe was being born. France
had become 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 feuda-
tories 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 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 Arragon-
Sicily.

From the importance of the word renaissance
as indicating the " movement of transition from
the mediaeval to the modern world," Matthew
Arnold gave it the English form "renascence" —
adopted by J. R. Green, Coleridge, etc. 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
mentioned. The minds of men everywhere were
expanded : " whatever works of history, science,
morality, or entertainment seemed likely to in-
struct oramusewere printed and distributed among
the people at large by printers and booksellers."

38 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

Thus it was that, though the Turks never had
any pretension to learning or culture, yet theii
action in the middle of the fifteenth century
indirectly caused a marvellous 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
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 know-
ing what he did ; then Cabot, sailing from Bristol,
sailed north-west 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 started 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," saedum mirabile. The
concurrence of so many epoch-making results

OF THE WEST. 39

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 commence with the first of those dis-
coverers, who was also the greatest.

Columbus, the Latinized form of the Italian
Colombo, Spanish Colon. This Genoese navigator
must throughout all history be called the dis-
coverer of America, notwithstanding all the work
of smaller men. From his study of geographical
books in several languages Columbus had con-
vinced himself that our planet is spherical or
ball-shaped, not a flat, plane surface. Till then
India had always been reached by travelling
overland towards the rising sun. Why not sail
westward from Europe over the Ocean, and thus
come to the eastern parts of Asia by travelling
towards the setting sun ? By doing so, since our
world is ball-shaped, said Columbus, we must
inevitably reach Zipango {i.e. " Japan ") and
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 con-
firmed in this opinion by a learned geographer of
Florence, named Paul, and henceforward im-
patiently waited for an opportunity of testing the
truth of his theory.

40 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

He convinced himself, but could not convince
anyone 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 England, a prince full of projects, but miserly :
"too expensive! " was the Tudor's reply, though
presently, after the Spanish success, he became
eager to despatch expeditions from Bristol under
the 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
Portuguese 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 Fer-
dinand, King of Arragon, 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

OF THE WEST. 41

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, etc., some five
centuries 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 appointment of a bishop over the
new diocese. If so, the visit of Columbus to Ice-
land probably gave him confirmation as to the
Norse discovery of the American continent.

When at last King Ferdinand had taken
Granada from the Moors, Columbus was put in
command of three ships, with 120 men. He
set sail from the port of Palos in Andalusia, on a
Friday, 3rd August 1492, first steering to the
Canary Islands and then standing due west. In
September, to the amazement of all on board, the
compass was seen to " vary " : an important scien-
tific 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
" loadstone" had been known for ages before the
fifteenth century. The ancient Persians and other
"wise men of the East" used the loadstone as a
talisman. Both the Mongolian and Caucasian
races used it as an infallible guide in travel-

42 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

ling 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 discovered 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's 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 south-west,
because some birds were seen flying in that
direction. The first land reached was an island
of the Bahama group, which he named San
Salvador. As the Spanish boats rowed to shore
they were welcomed by crowds of astonished
natives, mostly naked, unless for a girdle of
wrought cotton, or plaited feathers. Hence the
lines of Milton :

. . . Such of late
Columbus found the American, so girt
With feather'd 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, 12th October
1492.

OF THE WEST. 43

So little was then known of the geography
of the Atlantic or of true longitude, that
Columbus attributed these islands to the east
coast of Asia. He therefore named them " Indian
Islands," as if close to Hindostan, a blunder that
has now been perpetuated for 410 years. The
natives were called " Indians " for the same
reasons. As the knowledge of geography
advanced it became necessary to say "West
Indies " or " East Indies " respectively, to dis-
tinguish American from Asiatic — "Indian corn"
means American, but "Indian ink" means
Asiatic, etc. Even after his fourth and last
voyage Columbus believed that the continent, as
well as the islands, were a portion of Eastern
Asia, and he died in that belief, without any sus-
picion of having discovered a New World.

A curious confirmation of the opinion of
Columbus 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 admiral,
drawn roughly in a letter written from 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 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 over a thousand
inhabitants, and that the corn used for food was
called maize — probably the first instance of Euro-
peans using a term which was afterwards to
become as familiar as "wheat" or "barley."

44 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

The natives told Columbus that their gold orna-
ments came from Cubakan, meaning the interior
of Cuba ; but he, on hearing the syllable kan,
immediately thought of the " Khan " mentioned
by Marco Polo, and therefore imagined that
"Cathay" (the China of that famous traveller)
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 Columbus
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, St Domingo, had been built
by Bartholemew Columbus. It was in this island
that the Spaniards saw the first of the " caziques,"
or native princes, afterwards so familiar during
the conquest of Mexico : he was carried on the
shoulders of four men, and courteously presented
Columbus with some plates of 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
behaviour is so decent that it is pleasant to see him.

The admiral had previously described the
Indians of Cuba as equally simple and friendly,

OF THE WEST, 45

telling how they had "honoured 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 pre-
sently to bring upon the native races — death,
and torture, and extermination !

A harbour 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 invited me to settle there. The
beauty of the river, the clearness of the water, the
multitude of palm trees and an infinite 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
describe it.

Having lost his flagship, Columbus returned to
Spain with the two small carvels that remained
from his petty fleet of three, arriving in the port
of Palos, 15th March 1493. The reception of the
successful explorer was quite a national event. He
entered Barcelona to be presented at court with
every circumstance of honour and triumph. Sit-
ting in presence of the king and queen he related
his wondrous tale, while his attendants showed
the gold, the cotton, the parrots and other un-
known birds, the curious arms and plants, and
above all the nine " Indians " with their outlandish
trappings^brought to be made Christians by
baptism. Ferdinand and Isabella heaped honours
upon the successful navigator \ and in return he

46 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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") with-
out 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," afterwards
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.

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 ofiicer
of the royal household, who had been sent out

OF THE WEST. 47

with full power to put down misrule. The
monarchs of Spain set Columbus free ; and soon
after 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, 7th November 1504. He now felt that
his work on earth was done, and died at Valla-
dolid, 20th May 1506. After temporary interment
there his body was
transferred to the ' ^ *

cathedral of San 0 A rs^

Domingo — whence, 0 * /T • ^.

1796, some remains yC^ /^A V^
were removed with *^ ^ «/

5(fo FfREM^

imposmg ceremonies
to Havana. From
later investigations

it appears that the Cipher autograph of Columbus.

ashes of the Genoese p Jtotiyf ^''''"'°" °^ '^^ "^^'' ''
discoverer are still servate

. , ^ 1 r o Christu5 Mari^ Yoseph"s

m the tomb of San (Christoferens).

Domingo.

It was in the cathedral of Seville, over his first
tomb, that King Ferdinand is said to have
honoured the memory of the Great Admiral
with a marble monument bearing the well-known
epitaph :

A CASTILLA Y ARAGON
NUEVO MUNDO DIO COLON.

48 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

or, " To the united Kingdom of Castile-Arragon
Columbus gave a New World.'''

After the death of Columbus, it seemed as
if fate intended his family to enjoy the honours
and rewards of which he had been so unjustly
deprived. His son, Diego, wasted two years
trying to obtain from King Ferdinand the offices
of Viceroy and Admiral, which he had a right to
claim in accordance with the arrangement formerly
made with his father. At last Diego commenced
a suit against Ferdinand before the Council which
managed Indian affairs. That court decided in
favour 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 splendour hitherto unknown in the
New World."

(ii.) Henry VH. 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 N.W. direction, with the
hope of finding some passage thereabouts to
India. In June 1497 a new coast was sighted
(probably Labrador or Newfoundland), and named
Prima Vista. They coasted the Continent south-
wards, "ever with intent to find the passage to
India," till they reached the peninsula now called
Florida. On this important voyage was based
the claim which the English kings afterwards
made for the possession of all the Atlantic coasi;

OF THE WEST. 49

of N. America. King Henry wished colonists to
settle in the new land, tam viri qua f?i fe mince, but
since, in his usual miserly character, 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's
Bay. He wished to discover a channel leading
to Hindustan, but the difficulties of icebergs
and cold weather so frightened his crews that
he was compelled to retrace his course. In
another attempt at the N.W. passage to Asia, he
reached lat. 6'jh N., and "gave English names
to sundry places in Hudson's Bay." In 1526,
when commanding a Spanish expedition from
Seville, he sailed to Brazil, which had already
been annexed to Portugal by Cabrera, explored the
river La Plata and ascended part of the Paraquay,
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 relation to trade
and navigation. The great honour of Cabot is
that he saw the American Continent before
Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci.

(iii.) Of the great navigators of that unexampled
age of discovery, as Spain was honoured by
Columbus and England by Cabot, so Portugal

« D

50 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

was honoured 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." Cabrera, or Cabral, was another great
explorer sent from Portugal to follow in the route
of de Gama ; but being forced into a S.W. route
by currents in the south Atlantic he landed on
the continent of America, and annexed the new
country to Portugal under the name of Brazil.
Cabrera afterwards drew up the first commercial
treaty between Portugal and India.

(iv.) Magellan, scarcely inferior to Columbus,
brought honour as a navigator both to Portugal
and Spain. For the latter country, when in the
service of Charles V., he revived the idea of
Columbus that we may sail to Asia or the Spice
Islands by sailing west. With a squadron of five
ships, 236 men, he sailed, in 15 19, to Brazil and
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 Balboa
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 Pacific."
After touching at the Ladrones and the Philip-

* The poet, however, makes the clerical blunder of writing
Cortez for lialboa.

OF THE WEST. 51

pines, Magellan was killed in a fight with the
inhabitants of Matan, a small island. Sebas-
tian, his Basque lieutenant (mentioned in Chap.
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 (Lat.
Americus) Vespucci, born at Florence, 1451, had
commercial occupation in Cadiz, and was em-
ployed by the Spanish Government. He has been
charged with a fraudulent attempt to usurp the
honour due to Columbus, but Humboldt and
others have defended him, after a minute examina-
tion of the evidence. In a book published in 1 507
by a German, Waldseemiiller, the author happens
to say :

And the fourth part of the world having been dis-
covered by Americus, it may be called Amerige, that
is the land of Americus, or America.

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
jealously guarded as a " state secret." Humboldt
curiously adds that the " musical sound of the

52 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

name caught the public ear," and thus the
blunder has been universally perpetuated :

statque stabitque

in omne volulilis aevurn.

Another reason for the universal renown of
Amerit^o 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 over three centuries and a half, as " Queen of
the Antilles " and " Pearl of the Antilles," Cuba
has been noted as a chief colonial possession of
Spain, till recent events brought it under the
power of the United States. The conquest of the
island was undertaken by Valasquez, 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, because the
natives, like those of Hispaniola, were of a peace-
ful character, easily imposed upon by the invaders.
The only difficulty Velasquez had was in the
eastern part of the island where Hatuey, a
cazique or native chief who had fled there from
Hispaniola, made preparations to resist the
Spaniards. When defeated he was cruelly con-
demned by Velasquez to be burnt 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

OP THE WEST. 53

of heaven, if he would embrace the Christian faith.
" Are there any Spaniards," says he, after some
pause, " in that region of bhss 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
U.S.A. 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 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 escape
of Balboa from Hispaniola to become afterwards
Governor of Darien ; and, second, the expedition
under Cordova to explore that part of the con-
tinent 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

54 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST.

houses, and country generally, there were many
proofs of a somewhat advanced civilization. The
natives, however, were much more warlike than
the simple islanders of Cuba and Hispaniola ;
and Cordova, 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. Every-
where were found proofs of civilization, especially
in architecture. The whole district, in fact,
abounds in pre-historic 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 treasure 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 apj^eared capable
of becoming a general in the foremost rank, viz.,
Hernando Cortes, greatest of all the Spanish
explorers.

CHAPTER 111

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
Phoenicians, 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 re-
presented in ancient paintings together with a boat
floating on the waters at the foot of a mountain. A
dove is also depicted, with a hieroglyphical emblem
of languages in his mouth. . . . Tezpi, the Noah of
a neighbouring 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
remained feeding on the dead bodies of the giants,
which had been left on the earth as the waters sub-
sided. 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 sea-port), was built by the giants to
escape drowning. Like the tower of Babel, it
was intended to reach the clouds, till the gods
looked down and, by destroying the pyramid by
fires from heaven, compelled the builders to
abandon the attempt.

55

56 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

The hieroglyphics used in the Aztec calendar
correspond curiously with the zodiacal signs of
the Mongols of E. Asia. "The symbols in the
Mongolian calendar are borrowed from animals,
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 6 to 9 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 vv'ere without any doubt occupied from
the earliest ages by peoples who gradually advanced
in civilization from generation to generation 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
chequered 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 centres, bringing additional comfort and
refinement, and implying the practice of the

OF THE WEST. 57

useful arts and some applications of science.
As to the legendary migrations of even those
extinct races whose names still remain, Max
Miiller said *

The traditions are no better than the Greek tradi-
tions about Pelasgians, ^^olians and lonians, and it
would be a mere waste of time to construct out of
such elements a systematic history, only to be
destroyed again sooner or later, by some Niebuhr,
Grote or Lewis.

A?iahuac {i.e. " Water-side " or " The lake-
country "), in the early centuries of our era, was
a name of the country round the lakes and
town afterwards called Mexico. To this centre,
as a place for settlement, there came from the
north or north-west 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
abandoned Tula, the Aztecs or early Mexicans
arrived to settle in the valley of Anahuac. With
the Aztecs came the Tezcucans, whose capital,
Tezcuco, on the eastern border of the Mexican
lake, has given it its still surviving name.

* Chips from a German Workshop, i. 327.

S8 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

The Aztecs, again, after long migrations from
place to place, finally, in a.d. 1325, halted on
the south-western shores of the great lake. Ac-
cording 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 in-
dicating 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 — afterwards 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 in-
creased in population, the original houses being
replaced by substantial stone buildings. There
are documents showing that Tenochtitlan was of
* Frescolt, i. i, pp. 8, 9.

OF THE WEST. 59

much larger dimensions than the modern capital
of Mexico, on the same site. Just before the
arrival of the Spaniards i.e. at the beginning of
the sixteenth century, the kingdom extended
from the Gulf across to the Pacific ; and south-
wards under the ruthless Ahuitzotl 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 colours 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 vege-
table paper and canvas. Examples of such
manuscripts 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 fol-
lowing century the study was abandoned. Even
the native-born scholars confessed that they were
unable to decipher the ancient writing. One of
the most ancient books (assigned to Tula, the
"Toltec" capital, a.d. 660, and written by Huet-
matzin, an astrologer), describes the heavens and
the earth, the stars in their constellations, the
arrangement of time in the official calendar, with

6o EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

some geography, mythology, and cosmogony. In
the fifteenth century the King of Tezcuco, pub-
lished sixty hymns in honour of the Supreme
Being, 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
(Acolhua, Mexico, and TIacopan) formed a
confederacy with a constant tendency to give
Mexico the supremacy. The two capitals look-
ing 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
escaped death at the hands of their Mexican
opponents. When King Montezuma was asked
by a European general why he had permitted the
republic of Tlascala to remain independent on
the borders of his kingdom, his reply was—" that
she might furnish me with victims for my gods."

OF THE WEST. 6i

In reckoning the number of victims Prescott
seems to have trusted too impHcitly 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 estimate of Casas is "that
the Mexicans never sacrificed more than fifty or
a hundred persons in a year."

Nothwithstanding the wholesale bloodshed
before the shrines of their gory gods, we can
still assign to the Aztecs a high degree of civiliza-
tion. 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
sometimes 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 re-
concile such refinement as their extinct civiliza-
tion showed with their savage enjoyment of

62 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

bloodshed. "No captive was ever ransomed or
spared: all vi^ere sacrificed without mercy, and
their flesh devoured." " The first of the four
chief counsellors 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 was a broad area on which
stood one or two towers, from 40 to 50 feet
in 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 massive
sides, allowed the long procession of priests to be
visible as they ceremoniously ascended to perform
the dread ofifice of slaughtering the human victims.

Human sacrifices had not originally been a
feature of the Aztec worship. But about 200
years before the arrival of the Spanish invaders
there was a beginning of this religious atrocity,
till at last no public festival was considered com-
plete without some human bloodshed.

Prescott takes as an example the great festival
in honour 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,
distinguished for his personal beauty and without a

OF THE WEST. 63

blemish on his body, was selected. . . . Tutors took
charge of him and instructed him how to perform
his new part with becoming 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 attended by a train of
the royal pages, and as he halted in the streets to
play some favourite melody, the crowd prostrated
themselves before him, and did him homage as the
representative of their good deity. . . . Four
beautiful girls, bearing the names of the principal
goddesses, were selected, and with them he con-
tinued to live idly, feasted at the banquets of the
principal nobles, who paid him all the honours 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
temple which rose on its margin. . . . Hither the
inhabitants of the capital flocked to witness the con-
summation of the ceremony. As the sad procession
wound up the sides of the pyramid, the unhappy
victim threw away his gay chaplets 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 hieroglyphic scrolls of
mystic import. They led him to the sacrificial stone,
a huge block of jasper, with its upper surface some-
what convex. On this the victim 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 palpi-
tating 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 themselves in humble
adoration.

64 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

Such was an instance of the human sacrifices
for which ancient Mexico became infamous to
the whole civiHzed 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 blood-thirsty gods, and in a season of
drought even children were sometimes slaughtered
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 favourable 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 settlement
of the ancient Mexicans on the region called
Anahuac including all the fertile plateau and ex-
tending south to the lake of Nicaragua. The chief
tribes of the race were said to have come from
Californin, and after being subject to the Colhua

OF THE WEST. 65

people asserted their independence about a.d.
1325. Soon after, their first capital, Tenochtitlan,
was built on the site of Mexico, their permanent
centre. 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
commencement 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 necessary human sacrifices. In 1502 the
younger Montezuma ascended the throne. He is
better known to us than the previous kings, be-
cause it was in his reign that the Spanish con-
querors appeared 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 betrayal by various of the
neighbouring nations whom they had formerly
conquered. At the beginning of the sixteenth
century, according to Prescott, the Aztec king
ruled across 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

E

66 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

festivals. The tropical year being thus ascertained,
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." Havmg no animals of draught,
such as the horse, or ox, their farming was natur-
ally 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 of a foreign hand. Even when this foreign in-
fluence comes in the form of civilization he seems to
sink and pine away beneath it. It has been so with
the Mexicans. Under the Spanish domination their
numbers have silently melted away. Their energies
are broken. They no longer tread their mountain
plains with the conscious independence 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
I^riests, and the Asiatic "cosmogonies." The
Aztecs, in explaining the great mystery of man's
existence after death, believed that future time

OF THE WEST. 67

would revolve in great periods or cycles, each
embracing 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 5000 priests
in attendance, of whom the chief dignitaries
superintended the dreadful rites of human sac-
rifice. 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-paint-
ing and oral traditions. One important section
of the priesthood were teachers, responsible for
the education of the children and instruction in
religion and morality. The head management
of the hierarchy or whole ecclesiastical system,
was under two high priests — the more dignified
that tliey were chosen by the king and principal
nobles without reference to birth or social station.
These high priests were consulted on any national
emergency, and in precedency of rank were supe-
rior to every man except the king. Montezuma
is said to have been a priest.

The priestly power was more absolute than
any that has ever been experienced in Europe.
Two remarkable peculiarities were that when a
sinner was pardoned by a priest, the certificate
afterwards saved the culprit from being legally

68 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

punished for any offence ; secondly, there could
be no pardon for an offence once atoned for if
the offence 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 confes-
sion." (Presc, 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 favour descend,
like the pure waters of heaven, to wash away the
stains from the soul. Thou knowest that this poor
man has sinned, tiot from his own free-will^ but
from the influence of the sign under which he was
born. . . .

After enjoining on the penitent a variety of minute
ceremonies by way of penance, the confessor urges
the necessity of instantly procuring a slave for sacri-
fice to the Diety.

In the schools under the clergy the boys were
taught by priests and the girls by priestesses.
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
preserved by one of the Spanish historians we
cannot 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.

OF THE WEST. 69

which have proceeded from the bowels and heart in
which they were treasured 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 stain not
your honour, nor pollute the lustre 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
beginning of the world might not visit the child,
but 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 Iter face
towards tJie west, and began to go through certain
ceremonies . . . After this she sprinkled water on
the head of the infant, saying, " O my child ! receive
the water of the Lord of the world, which is our life,

* Sahagun, Hist, de Nueva Es/aiia, vi. 19.

70 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

and is given for the increasing and renewing of our
body. It is to wash and to purify." . . . [After a
prayer] she took the child in both hands, and Ufting
him towards heaven said, " O Lord, thou seest here
thy creature whom thou hast sent into this world,
this place of sorrow, suffering 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
acquainted with many scientifical instruments of
strange invention . . . whether the telescope may
not have been of the number is uncertain ; but the
thirteenth plate of M. Dupaix's MonuDieiits^ 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 length of the period, two generations,
one might compare it with the " Jubilee " of
ancient Israel — a word made familiar towards 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 tliey "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

OF THE WEST. 71

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 towards a lofty moun-
tain, 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 renewal 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 communi-
cated to a funeral-pyre on which the body of the
slaughtered captive was thrown. As the light
streamed up towards heaven, shouts of joy and
triumph burst forth from the countless multitudes
who covered the hills, the terraces of the temples,
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.

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 thanksgivings in the temples.
Dances and games were instituted emblematical of
the regeneration of the world.

Prescott compares this carnival of the Aztecs

* A famous group of seven small stars in the "Bull"
constellation. The " seven sisters " appear as only j/x to
ordinary eyesight : to make out the seventh is a test of a
practised eye and excellent vision.

7i EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

to the great secular festival of the Romans or
ancient Etruscans, which (as Suetonius remarked)
" few alive had witnessed before, or could expect
to witness again." The ludi saeculares 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 the 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 fliint dawn of day
Break through the orient sky.

— Madoc, ii. 26.

CHAPTER IV

AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY

Long before the time of Columbus and the
Spanish Conquest there existed on the tableland
of Mexico two great races or nations, as has
already been shown, both highly civilized, and
both akin in language, art and religion. Ethnol-
ogists and antiquarians are not agreed as to their

OF THE WEST. 73

origin or the development of their civilization.
Many recent critics have formed 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 repeatedly mentioned in the preceding
chapter. To that previous race some attribute
the colossal stone-work around Lake Titicaca, as
well as other survivals of long-forgotten culture.
Some would even class them with the " Mound-
Builders " of the Ohio Valley. Other recent
antiquarians, however, while fully admitting the
Aztec - Tescucan civilization to be real and
historical, treat the Toltec 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 leading facts of American Archae-
ology— especially as regards the races and the
monuments of their long extinct civilizations.
Throughout many parts of both North and South
America, and over large areas, the red-skinned
natives continued their generations as their
ancestors 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, Columbia, and Peru there were
men of the original redskin race who had dis-

74 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

tinctly attained to civilization for unknown genera-
tions before the time of Columbus. Not only so,
but in many centres 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 of 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"
found in either North or South America. Through-
out Asia and Africa there is great diversity in type
among the races that are indigenous ; but as to
America, to quote Humboldt :

The Indians of New Spain [;>., Mexico] bear a
general resemblance to those who inhabit Canada,
Florida, Peru and Brazil. We have the same
swarthy and copper colour, straight and smooth hair,
small beard, s(|uat body, long eye, with the corner
directed upward towards the temples, prominent
cheek bones, thick lips, and expression of gentle-

* White or Caucasian 640 millions, Yellow or Mongolian
600, Black or African 200, Red or American 20.

OF THE WEST. 75

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 10,000 years; and near New Orleans,
beneath four buried forests, a skeleton was found
which was possibly 50,000 years old. If, there-
fore, the Red Skins 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 recognised 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,
scattered on (3) a mass of clay and sand, con-
taining boulders. The same three tests are
frequently 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 " radiat-
ing to a distance of not less than 1000 miles, and
thick enough to block up with solid ice the North
Sea, the German Ocean, the Baltic, and even the

76 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

Atlantic up to the loo-fathom line." In North
America the same thing is proved by similar
evidence. A gigantic ice-cap extending from
Canada 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 autho-
rity states, that " if the gulf stream were diverted
and the Highlands 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 west and east.

The theory is that as the climate became
warmer, the ice-fronts retreated northwards by
the shrinking of the glaciers, and, therefore, the
animals, including man, were able to live further
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 :

Did Neolithic men slowly coming northward, as
the rigours of the last glacial period abated, domicile
here, and build this huge gaunt temple before they
passed further north, to degrade and dwindle down
into Eskimos wandering 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

OF THE WEST. 77

continent, reaching as far south as the present cities
of Philadelphia and St Louis, and the glaciated por-
tions 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 congenial. 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
Central 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 10,000 years
ago. This is established by observations upon the
recession of the existing glacier fronts, which are
known to drop back twelve miles in 100 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 ultimately ex-
tended 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 vid Bering Strait on the
Pacific side, and from north-western Europe vid
Greenland on the Atlantic side. The Korean immi-
gration 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 afterwards they
were nicknamed "Red Skins" by the English
settlers — to the Mexicans, Peruvians or

yS EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

Columbians 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 developed
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
respects, 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 lead-
ing design in the ancient Aztec temples (as well
as those of Chaldea, etc.) consisting of three
terraces faced with hewn stone. The terraces
are in length 575, 545, and 360 feet respectively;
with 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

* See PVoniispiece.

OF THE WEST. 79

ruins ; many of the roofs having apparently
consisted of stone arches, painted in various
colours. One building, of pecuHar construction,
proves an enigma to all travellers : it is over
ninety yards long and consists of two parallel
walls, each ten yards thick, the distance between
them being also ten yards. It has been con-
jectured that the anomalous construction had
reference to some public games by which the
citizens amused themselves in that long-forgotten
period. Among other memorials 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 Stephens and other travellers.
It is near the coast, at the place where Cortes
and his Spanish soldiers were moving about for a
considerable time, yet they do not appear to have
ever seen the splendid ruins, or to have at all
suspected their existence. Even if the natives
knew, the Spaniards might have found the toil of
forcing a passage through such forests too labori-
ous. 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 sub-
stantial and handsome buildings with excellent
masonry, and in many 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

8o EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

Spaniards utilized the ancient buildings as quarries
for good stones.

The larger prehistoric structures are frequently
on artificial mounds, being probably intended foi
religious or ceremonial purposes. The walls both
within and without are elaborately decorated,
sometimes with symbolic figures. Sometimes
ofificials 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
archaeologists call " calculiform hieroglyphs "
{v. p. 84).

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
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

* D. G. Brinton.

OF THE WEST. 8i

form of the arch occurring in some of the ruins,
e.g. at Palenque. Two walls are built parallel 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 between and completes the arch.

In Honduras, on the banks of the Copan, the
Spaniards found a pre-historic 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 characteristic Maya hieroglyphs, which,
could they be deciphered, would doubtless reveal the
story of this strange and solitary city.

In W. 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.

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

- F

82 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

the architectural monuments already discussed.
Both Aztecs and Mayans of Yucatan and Central
America, used picture-writing and sometimes an
imperfect form of hieroglyphics. The most
elementary 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
Montezuma, one of the Aztecs was observed
sketching the dress and appearance of the
Spaniards, and then completing his picture
by using colours. Even in recent times Indians
have recorded facts by pictographs : in Harper's
Magazine (August 1902) we read that "picto-
graphs and painted rocks to the number of over
3000 are scattered all over the country (U.S.A.),
from the Dighton Rock, Mass. \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 proven by relics, mortuary
customs, linguistic similarities, plants and vege-
tables, 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 5000 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-
sented, whose names when pronounced together,
give a sound which suggests the name to be
recorded or remembered. Thus, the name

OF THE WEST. 83

Gladstone may be expressed in this manner by
two pictures, one a laughing face (J.e. " happy "
or " glad ") the other a rock {i.e. " stone "). It is
exactly 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 pre-historic alphabets were
arrived at, not only among the early Mayans of
Yucatan, etc., but among the pre-historic peoples
of Asia, as the Chinese, the Hittites, etc., as well
as the primeval Egyptians. Many of the sculp-
tures 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
inscriptions or the cuneiform records of Babylonia.
For the American hieroglyhs we still lack a second
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.

3. Codex Pereiiamis, named from the wrapper
in which it was found, 1859, which had the

S4 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

name " Perez." It is also known as Cod.
Mexicatms.

In Lord Kingsborough's great work on Mexican
Antiquities, there are several of the Mayan MSS.
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 ca/cuIifor?n (i.e. " pebble-shaped ") is applied
to their hieroglyphs, as cuneiform (i.e. " wedge-
shaped") is applied to the Babylonian and Assyrian
letters.

The paper which the pre-historic 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. page 96). When
the surface of the paper was glazed, the letters
were painted on in brilliant colours, proceeding
from left to right as we do. Each book was
a strip of paper, several yards long and about
10 inches wide, not rolled round a stick as the
volumes of ancient Rome were, but folded zig-zag
like a screen. The protecting boards which held
the book were often artistically 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-
tensive use for the legal conveyance and sale of
property.

OF THE WEST. 85

One of the most remarkable facts connected
with this extinct civihzation was the accuracy of
their calendar and chronological system. Their
calendar was actually superior to that then existing
in Europe. They had two years : one for civil pur-
poses, of 365 days, divided into 18 months of 20
days, besides 5 supplementary days : the other, a
ritual or ecclesiastical year, to regulate the public
festivals. The civil year required 13 days to be
added at the end of every 52 years, so as to
harmonise with the ritual year. Each month
contained 4 weeks of 5 days, but as each of the
20 days (forming a month) had a distinct name,
Humboldt concluded that the names were bor-
rowed from a pre-historic calendar used in India
and Tartary.

Wilson {^Prehistoric Matt, i. 133) remarks :

By the unaided results of native science the
dwellers on the Mexican plateau had efifected 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 error, compared
with that of the barbarian nation whose civilization
they so speedily effaced.

In 1790 there was found in the Square of
Mexico a famous 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

* Cf. pp. 70-72, V' p. 97-

86 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

been dug up in other parts ot Mexico and in
Yucatan.

Both the Mayas and the Aztecs excelled in the
ordinary arts of civilized life. Papermaking 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 feathers ;
metal working was not so important as in some
countries, being chiefly for ornamental purposes.
In fact it was the comparative plenty of gold and
silver around Mexico that delayed the invasion
of the Mayan country for over twenty years. The
Mayas had developed trade to a considerable
extent before the Spanish invasion, and inter-
changed 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 antiquarians, as having originally been a
great temple of Quetzalcotl, the benefictnt deity,
famous in story ; and, secondly, for the fierce
struggle around the mound and on the slopes
between the Mexicans and Spanish (?'. pp. 133-6).

Another mound in this district, Yochicalco, lies
seventy-five miles south-west of the capital. It is

OF THE WEST. 87

considered one of the best memorials of the
extinct civilization ; consisting of five terraces
supported by stone walls, and formerly sur-
mounted by a pyramid.

Passing from the traces of Aztec and Mayan
civilization, we may now glance at the antiquities
of the Columbian 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 wonder-
ful beauty. Many hollow figures have been
found, evidently cast from moulds, representing
men, beasts and birds, etc. Stone-cutting was
also an art of this ancient race, sometimes
appUed to making idols bearing hieroglyphs.

When the Spaniards invaded them to take their
gold and precious stones, the " Chibchas," who
then held the Columbian tableland and valleys,
threw great quantities of those valuables into a
lake near Bogota, the capital. It was afterwards
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 Colum-
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

88 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 interesting 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. Amongst 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 Choctaw Indians and
their allies, and had been driven southward.

In the lower Mississippi valley, eastward to the
sea-coast, there are many large earthworks, includ-
ing round and quadrilateral mounds, embank-
ments, 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 considerable
population.

Amongst other antiquarian remains in America
are the Cliff-liouses and "Pueblos." The former
peculiarity is explained by the deep canons of
the dry tableland of Colorado. Imagine a

OF THE WEST. 89

narrow deep cutting or narrow trench worn
by water-courses out of solid rock, deep enough
to afford a channel to the stream from 500
to 1500 feet below 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
stories. Occasionally there is a watch tower
perched on a conspicuous 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
archaeologists to be later than the Spanish Con-
quest.

Peru is very important archseologically, but
some interesting points will properly fall under
our general account of that country and its con-
quest by Spain.

In Peruvian architecture, we find " Cyclopean
walls," with polygonal stones of five or six feet
diameter, so well polished and adjusted that no
mortar was necessary ; sometimes with a project-
ing part of the stone fitting exactly into a corre-
sponding 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

90

EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

with large upright stores, similar to the famous

"Druidic" temple
at Stonehenge. All
of the chief struc-
tures were accurately
placed with reference
tothecardinal points,
and the main en-
trance always faced
the east. The Peru-
vian tombs were very
elaborate, one kind
being made by cut-
ting caverns in the
steep precipices of
the Cordillera and
then carefully wall-
ing-in the entrance.
Another variety (the
Chulpd) was really
a stone tower erected
above ground, twelve

to thirty feet high. The Chulpas were sometimes

built in groups.

Chulpa or Stone Tomb of the
Peruvians.

CHAPTER V

MEXICO BEFORE THE SPANISH INVASION

The Aztecs and the Tescucans were the chief
races occupying the great tableland of Anahuac,
including, as we have seen, the famous Mexican
valley. In the preceding chapter we have set

OF THE WEST. 91

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.

Several features of the early Mexican civiliza-
tion will come before us as we accompany the
European conquerors in their march over the
tableland. Meantime, we glance first at the
geography of this magnificent region, and
secondly, at the manners and institutions of the
people, 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
middle 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 tableland.
The heightof the plain in the two central states,
Mexico and Puebla, is 8000 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 tableland run a series of mountainous
groups parallel to the sea coast, 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
— Colima, 14,400 feet; Jorulla, Popocatepetl,
17,800; Orizaba (extinct), 18,300, the highest
summit in Mexico and therefore in N. America.
The great plateau-basin formed around the

92 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

capital and its lakes is completely enclosed by
mountains.

This high tableland has its own climate as
compared with the broad tract lying along the
Atlantic. Hence the latter is known as the hot
region {calienie), and the former the cold region
[fria). Between the two climates, as the traveller
mounts from the sea level to the great plateau, is
the temperate region itempladd), 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 volanic 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 enamelled vegetation of the tropics."
This contrast arises from the height he has now
gained above the hot coast region.

The climate on the tableland 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 semi-tropical 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 freemen. The code in general showed real
respect for the leading principles of morality.

In Mexico, as in ancient Egypt,

OF THE WEST. 93

the soldier shared with the priest the highest con-
sideration. The king must be an experienced warrior.
The tutelary deity of the Aztecs was the god of war.
A great object of mihtary expeditions was to gather
hecatombs of captives for his altars. The soldier
who fell in battle was transported at once to the
region of ineffable bliss in the bright mansions of the
sun. . . . Thus every war became a crusade ; and the
warrior was not only raised to a contempt of danger,
but courted it — animated by a religious enthusiasm
like that of the early Saracen or the Christian
crusader.

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
precious stones and gold ornaments. Their belts,
collars, 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 pheasant's 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

9^ EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

honour, that in the large towns hospitals were
kept for the cure of the sick and wounded
soldiers, and as a permanent refuge, if disabled.
Not only so, says a Spanish historian, but "the
surgeons placed over them were so far better than
those in Europe, that they did not protract the
cure to increase the pay."

Even the Red Man of the Woods, as we learn
from Fennimore Cooper and Catlin, believes
reverently in the Great Spirit who upholds the
Universe ; 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 per-
fection and purity, under whose wings we find
repose and a sure defence. . . .

Prescott however remarks that notwithstanding
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
elements, the changes of the seasons and the
various occupations of man."

The Aztecs, in fact, believed in thirteen dii
tnajorcs 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 blood-thirsty monster Huiizilopochtti,
the hideous god of >var— tutelary deity of the

OF THE WEST.

95

nation. There was a nuge temple to him in the
capital, and on the great altar before his image
there, and on all his altars throughout the Empire,
the reeking blood of thousands of human victims
was being constantly poured out.

The terrible name of this Mexican Mars has
greatly puzzled scholars of the language. Accord-
ing to one derivation the name is a compound
of two words
h u 7)1 III ing- bird
and 071 the left,
becausehis image
has the feathers
of that bird on
the left foot.
Prescott natur-
ally thinks that
"too amiable an
etymology for so
ruffian a deity."
Tlie other name
of tlie war god
Mexitl (i.e."-t\\Q ^ , ,

h/., , , „s Quetzalcoatl.

areofthealoes )

is much better 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. Prescott

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 Quetzalcoatl

96 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

preserved among the Mexicans, that he had been
a king, afterwards a god, and had a temple
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 7naize or Indian corn. Humboldt
tells us that at the conquest it was grown through-
out America, from the south of Chili 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 flavouring ; and most important of all,
the maguey or Mexican aloe, much valued
because its leaves were manufactured into paper,
and its juice by fermentation becomes the
national intoxicant "pulque." The fnagiiey 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 fibre, 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
* The ruins were referred to in Chap. IV. (z*. p. 86, also 133).

OF THE WEST. 97

manufacture excellent and very fine cloth, resem-
bling Holland or the finest linen."

The itztli, formerly mentioned as being used
at the sacrifices by the officiating priest, was
" obsidian," a dark transparent mineral, of the
greatest hardness, and, therefore, useful for making
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 xh&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 i8th], by order of the govern-
ment." He further remarks :

This wantonness of destruction provokes the bitter
animadversion of the Spanish writer Martyr, whose
enlightened mind respected the vestiges of civiliza-
tion wherever found. "The conquerors," says he,
" seldom repaired the buildings that they defaced ;
they would rather sack twenty stately cities than
erect one good edifice."

a^

The pre-Columbian Mexicans inherited a
practical knowledge of mechanics and engineer-
ing. The Calendar-stone, for example (spoken
of in the preceding chapter) a mass of dark

=> G

98 EXTINC T CI VI LIZA TIONS

porphyry estimated at fifty tons weight, was carried
for a distance of many leagues from the moun-
tains beyond 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 heavy rock had to be raised from
the water beneath. With such obstacles, without
the draught assistance of horses or cattle, how
was it possible to effect such a transport ? Perhaps
the mechanical skill of their builders and en-
gineers had contrived some tramway or other
machinery. An English traveller 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 dis-
interred 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 with 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 beautiful mosaic. The gorgeous plumage of the
tropical birds, especially of the parrot tribe, afforded
every variety of colour ; and the fine down of the
humming-bird, which revelled in swarms among the
honeysuckle bowers of Mexico, supplied them with
soft aerial tints that gave an exquisite finish to the

OF THE WEST. 99

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
brilliancy and nice gradation of colour, 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 amongst 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.
Sometimes the festivities were on a large scale,
with costly preparations and numerous at-
tendants. 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 pro-
fusion with blossoms of every hue and sweet

loo EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

odour, 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 rehgious obligation*
Modern Europeans believe that tobacco was
introduced from America in the time of Queen
Isabella and Queen Elizabeth, but ages before
that period the Aztecs at their banquets had the
"fragrant weed" offered to the company, "in
pipes, mixed up with aromatic substances, or in
the form of cigars, inserted in tubes of tortoise-
shell or silver." The smoke after dinner was no
doubt preliminary to the siesta or nap of " forty
winks." It is not known if the Aztec ladies, hke
their descendants in modern Mexico, also appre-
ciated the j^// 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
introduced into Europe from Mexico, although
stupidly supposed to have come from Asia. The
French named it coq d'I/ide,\ the " Indian cock,"

* Sahugan (vi. 22) quotes the precise instructions of a
father to his son ; he must wash face and hands before
sitting down to table ; and must not leave till he has re-
peated the operation and cleansed his teeth.

t The Spanish named this handsome bird gallopavo
{^7i\.. pavo, the "peacock"). The wild turkey is larger
and more beautiful than the tame, and therefore Benjamin
Franklin, when speaking sarcastically of the "American
Eagle, " insisted that the wild turkey was the proper national
emblem.

OF THE WEST. loi

meaning American, but the ordinary hearer
imagined d'Inde meant from Hindostan. The
blunder arose from that misappHcation of the
word " Indian," first made by Columbus, as we
formerly explained.

The Aztec cooks dressed their viands with
various 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 beauti-
ful flowers which adorned the table there were
sculptured vases of silver and sometimes gold.
At table

the favourite beverage was the chocolati flavoured
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 Alcohuans 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 remodelled the various
departments of his government. He had a

I02

EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

council of war, another of finance, and a third
of justice.

A remarkable institution, under King Nezahual-
coyotl, was the " Council of Music," intended to
promote the study of science and the practice 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

Ancient Bridge near Tezcuco.

and ornamental arts, " Its historians, orators
and poets were celebrated throughout the country.
... Its idiom, more polished than the Mexican,
continued long after the Conquest to be 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."

OF THE WEST. 103

The most remarkable problem connected with
ancient Mexico is how to reconcile the general
refinement and civilization with the sacrifices of
human victims. There was no town or city but
had its temples in pubHc places, with stairs visibly
leading up to the sacrificial stone, ever standing
ready before some hideous idol or other — as
already described.

In all countries there have been public spec-
tacles of bloodshed, not only as in the gladiators
in the ancient circus —

"butcher'd to make a Roman holiday,"

or the tournays of the Middle Ages, but in the
prize-ring fights and public executions by axe 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, i8th August, is the anni-
versary of the last sentence for beheading passed
by our House of Lords. By that sentence three
Scottish "Jacobites" passed under the axe 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,

I04 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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.

The primitive religions were derived from sun-
worship, and as fire is the nearest representative
of the sun, it seemed essential to Mirn the victim
offered as a sacrifice. At Carthage, the great Phoe-
nician colony, children were cruelly sacrificed by
firetothegodMelkarth of Tyre. "Melkarth" being
simply Melech Kiriath {i.e. " King of the City ")
and therefore identical with the " Moloch " or
" Molech " of the Ammonites, Moabites and
Israelites. In the earliest pre-historic age
the children of Ammon, Moab and Israel, were
apparently so closely akin that they had practi-
cally the same religion and worshipped 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

OF THE WEST. 105

in no case were the victims their own chiidren.
The victims were captives taken in war, or
persons convicted of crime ; and thus the
Mexicans were in atrocity far surpassed 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
the mild and gentle Aztec be too dreadful a
conception. 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 anyone 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 im-
possible. Yet much depends on the point of
view as well as the atmosphere. According to
archseologists all the primeval races of men could
at a pinch feed on human flesh, but after many
generations learned to do better without it. We
may have simply outgrown the craving, till at

io6 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 anyone who has
studied the earliest human antiquities, that all
races indulged in cannibalism, not only during
that enormously remote age called Palaeolithic,
but in comparatively recent though still pre-
historic times. " This is clearly proved by the
number 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,

OF THE WEST. 107

the sacrifice of a human hfe, sometimes a princess
or other distinguished heroine, was not unfre-
quent. We remember 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 Iphigenia, so beloved by
her father, King Agamemnon, and yet given
up by him a victim for purposes 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 throats cut
by their heroic mother in full view of the audience.
In the same i^z.%%z.g<s.{Ars Poet., 185, 186) 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 wholesale executions
on the Mexican teocallis, 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.

in

c

■^' ,. a

E

EXTINCT CIVILIZA TIONS OF THE WEST. 109

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 character-
ized the end of the fifteenth century, had an
enormous influence upon Spain. Her queen,
the " great Catholic Isabella," had, by assisting
Columbus, done much in the great discovery of
the Western World. Spain speedily had substan-
tial reward in the boundless wealth poured into
her lap, and the rich colonies added to her
dominion. Thus in the beginning of the six-
teenth century the new consolidated Spain, formed
by the union of the two kingdoms Castile and
Arragon, became the richest and greatest of all
the European states.

The Spanish governors in the West Indies
being 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
centres 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 marvellous
experience of Grijalva in Yucatan, then con-
sidered an island, and his report that its inhabi-

no EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

tants 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 Bona-
parte among the moderns ? Velasquez knew him
well as one of his subordinates in the cruel con-
quest of Cuba ; before that Cortes had distin-
guished himself in Hayti as an energetic and
skilled officer. Of an impetuous and fiery temper
which he had learned to keep thoroughly in com-
mand, he was characterized by that quality
possessed by all commanders of superior genius,
the " art of gaining the confidence and governing
the minds of men," As a youth in Spain he had
studied for the bar at the university of Sala-
manca ; 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
martial exercises, and a constitution of such
vigour as to be ca[)able of enduring any fatigue."

Cortes on reviewing his commission from the

OF THE WEST. in

governor, Velasquez, was too shrewd not to be
aware of the importance of his new position.
The " Great Admiral," with reference to the dis-
covery of the New World, had said: "I have
only opened the door for others to enter" ; and
Cortes was conscious that now was the moment
for that entrance. Filled with unbounded ambi-
tion 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 neigh-
bouring country. He ordered Cortes :

... to impress on the natives the grandeur and good-
ness of his royal master ; to invite them to give in
their allegiance to him, and to manifest it by regaling
him with such comfortable presents of gold, pearls
and precious stones, as by showing their own good-
will would secure his favour 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, 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 1 8th February 15 19, Cortes sailed with eleven
vessels 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 pre-
sently 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 "

1 12 EXTINC T CI VI LIZA TIONS

of the European firearms, and the " monstrous
apparition " of men on horseback. Such quad-
rupeds they had never seen before, and they
concluded that the rider with his horse formed
one unaccountable animal. Gomara and other
chroniclers tell how St James, the tutelar saint
of Spain, appeared in the ranks on a grey horse,
and led the Christians to victory over the heathen.

An especially fortunate thing for Cortes was that
amongst 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
afterwards 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
8000 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
terrible invaders seemed actually to wield the
thunder 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 Culhua, 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,
accompanied by crowds of Indians of both sexes,

OF THE WEST. 113

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
Mexican 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
immense empire, having kings and princes for
his vassals. Since my master has heard of the
greatness 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 goodwill, and with a
message 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 :
2 H

1 1 4 EXTINC T CI VI LIZ A TIONS

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 tilled 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 \vith St George and
the Dragon ; collars, bracelets and other orna-
ments 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
curiously 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 helmet to Montezuma, and expressed
a wish that it would be returned filled with the
gold dust of the 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

OF THE WEST. 115

pencil. It was an artist sketching the appear-
ance of the strangers, their dress, arms and
attitude, and fiUing in the picture with touches of
colour. Struck with the idea of being thus re-
presented to the Mexican monarch, Cortes,
ordered the cavalry to be exercised 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 neighbouring
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 colouring. They also recorded the ships of
the strangers — "the water-houses," as they were
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.

* The name Montezuma means "sad or severe man," a
title suited to his features though not to his mild character.

1 1 6 EXTINCT CI VI LIZ A TIONS

Tezcuco, the sister state to Mexico, had latterly
shown hostihty to Montezuma, and still more
formidable was the the republic of Tlascala,
lying between his capital and the coast. Pro-
digies 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 popular god Quetzalcoatl, the fair-skinned
and long-haired (p. 95). A generation had already
elapsed since the first rumours that white men in
great and 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
hearing 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
lightning. After holding a council, Montezuma
resolved to send an embassy to Cortes, presenting
him with a present which should reflect the
incomparable grandeur and resources of Mexico,
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 wrouglit mats were then unrolled.

OF THE WEST. ii?

and on them the slaves displayed the various articles
. . . shields, helmets, cuirasses, embossed with
plates and ornaments of pure gold ; collars and
bracelets of the same metal, sandals, fans, and
crests of variegated feathers, intermingled with gold
and silver thread, and sprinkled with pearls arid
precious stones ; imitations of birds and animals 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 rivalled the delicacy of paint-
ing. . . . The things which excited most admiration
were two circular plates of gold and silver, as " large
as carriage wheels " ; one representing the sun was
richly carved with plants and animals. It was thirty
palms in circumference, and was worth about
;ir52,Soo 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,
and the journey beset with difficulties and
dangers 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 state craft,
formed a new municipality thus transforming his
camp mto 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 muni-
cipality was formed, Cortes resigned before them

* Robertson, the historian, gives £,S'^GO ; but Prescott
reckons a /^J'(? afe fw at £7., 12s. 6d.; whence the 20,QOO
of the text gives 20,000 x 2§ = 250ox 2I = ;^52,5go.

ir8 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

his oflfice 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 tableland, obtain entrance upon the great
enclosed valley of Mexico. Cortes found that
an essential preliminary was to gain the friend-
ship 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 neighbouring cazique {i.e. " prince "),
Cortes saw five men of haughty appearance
enter the market-place, followed 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
tribute." Presently the Totonac chiefs came to
Cortes, with looks of dire dismay, to inform him
of the great emperor's resentment at the enter-
tainment offered to the Spaniards, and demand-
ing in expiation twenty young men and women
for sacrifice to the Aztec gods.

Cortes with every look of indignation, insisted
that the Totonacs should not only refuse to
comply, but should seize the Aztec messengers

OF THE WEST. 119

and hold them strictly confined in prison.
Unscrupulous to gain his ends, Cortes by lies
and cunning duplicity managed to set the
Mexican nobles free, dismissing them with a
friendly message to Montezuma, while at the
same time securing the confidence of the simple-
minded Totonacs urging them to join the
Spaniards and make a bold effort to regaining
their independence. Some thought that Cortes
was really the kindly divinity Quetzalcoatl, pro-
mised 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 accept 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
suff'er voluntarily persecution and even death at
the hands of some of his own creatures. The
cazique added that he " would resist any
violence offered to his gods, who would, indeed,
avenge the act themselves by the instant destruc-
tion of their enemies."

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

I20 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

the work of conversion as soon as Cortes had
appealed to them and declared that " God and
the Holy Saints would never favour their enter-
prise, 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
Spaniards moved towards one of the principal
teocallis or temples which rose high on a pyra-
midal foundation with a steep ascent of stone
steps in the middle. The cazique divining their
purpose, instantly called his men to arms. The
Indian warriors gathered from all quarters, with
shrill cries and clashing of weapons, while the
priests in their dark cotton robes, with dishevelled
tresses matted with blood, rushed frantic among
the natives, 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 citizens 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 covered 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
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

OF THE WEST. 121

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, amidst the
triumphant 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 reaction having
now set in amongst 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 instead of their
former dark mantles, and carrying 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 feelings 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 westwards towards the
temperate " slopes " of the mountains, Cortes had
another opportunity of proving his generalship
and prompt resource at a critical moment. When
Agathocles, the autocratic ruler of Syracuse,

122 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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, punish-
ing two of the ringleaders with death. Soon after,
he formed the extraordinary resolution of destroy-
ing 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
advantage 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 dangers ot 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 y)atiently wait till they see us
return loaded with the spoils of the Aztecs."

OF THE WEST. 123

Persuasion is the end of true oratory. The
reply of the army to Cortes was the unanimous
shout " To Mexico ! To Mexico ! "

After beginning the gradual ascent in their
march toward the tableland of Mexico, the first
place noted by the invaders was Xalapa, a town
which still retains its Aztec name, known to all
the world by the well-known drug grown there.
It is a favourite 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 unspeakable 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 Spaniards
served had princes as vassals, who were more
powerful than the Aztec ruler. The cazique
said

Montezuma could muster thirty great vassals
each master of 100,000 men. His revenues were
incalculable, since every subject, however poor, paid
something. . . . More than 20,000 victims, the fruit

124 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

of his wars, were annually sacrificed on the altars
of his gods ! His capital stood on a lake, in the
centre of a spacious valley. . . . The approach 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. Hum-
boldt remarking, when he travelled there, that the
whole district had, " at the time of the arrival of
the Spanish, been more inhabited and better
cultivated, and that in proportion as they got
higher up near the tableland, they found the
villages more frequent, the fields more subdivided,
and the people more law-abiding."

Before entering upon the tableland, Cortes
resolved 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 towards Tlascala,
lingering as they proceeded, so that his ambas-
sadors should have time to return. While wonder-
ing at the delay, they suddenly reached a remark-
able 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 thick-
ness, with a parapet afoot and a half broad raised on
the summit for the protection of those who defended it.
It had only one opening in the centre, made by two
semicircular lines of wall overlapping each other for

OF THE WEST. 125

the space of forty paces, and affording a passage-way
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 im-
mense blocks of stone nicely laid together without
cement, and the remains still existing, among which
are rocks of the whole breadth of the rampart, fully
attest its solidity and size.

Who were the people of this stout-hearted
republic? The Tlascalans were a kindred tribe
to the Aztecs, and after coming to the Mexican
valley towards the close of the twelfth century,
had settled for many years on the western shore
of Lake Tezcuco. Afterwards 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 invasion. 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
favourite, 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 in-
vaders, and drove them back with dreadful
slaughter from their territories."

The Tlascalans had of course heard of the
redoubtable Europeans and their advance upon

126 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 3000 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 ambassadors.
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
artillery 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,

OF THE WEST. 127

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 carcases,
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 TIascalans, 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
battalions 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.

Next day, 5th September 15 19, was there-

128 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 bow-
men 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. " No-
thing could be more picturesque than the aspect
of these Indian battalions, with the naked bodies
of the common soldiers gaudily painted, the
fantastic helmets of the chiefs bright with orna-
ments and precious stones, and the glowing
panoplies of featherwork. . . .

The golden glitterance and the feather-mail

More gay than ghttering gold ; and round the helm

A coronal of high upstanding plumes . . .

. . . With war-songs and wild music they came on.*

The Tlascalan warriors had attained wonderful
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).

OF THE WEST. 129

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
"petrified with dismay."

But for the accident of dissension having arisen
between the chiefs of the Tlascalans, it almost
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 Tlascalan
therefore with 10,000 warriors, marched secretly
towards the Spanish camp, but owing to the
bright moonlight they were not unseen by the
vedettes. Besides that, Cortes had accustomed
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, meanv/hile, 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

I30 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

battle-cry of the Spaniards, followed by the in-
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
overtook the fugitives, riding them down, and
cutting them to pieces without mercy." Next
day Cortes sent new ambassadors to the TIascalan
capital, accompanied by his faithful slave-inter-
preter Marina. They found the cazique's council
sad and dejected, every gleam of hope being now
extinguished.

The message of Cortes still promised friendship
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 inhabitant to the
sword." On hearing this ultimatum, the council
chose four leading chiefs to be intrusted 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 invaders.

Cortes, in the meantime, had another oppor-
tunity of showing his resource and presence of
mind. Some of his soldiers had shown a
grumbling discontent: "the idea of conquering
Mexico was madness : if they had encountered
such opposition from the petty repubhc, what
might they not expect from the great Mexican
Empire? There was now a temporary suspension
of hostilities : should they not avail themselves q\

OF THE WEST. 131

it to retrace their steps to Vera Cruz." To this
Cortes Hstened 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 impossible. What would the Tlascalans say ?
How would the Mexicans exult at such a miserable
issue ! — Instead of turning your eyes towards
Cuba, fix them on Mexico, the great object of our
enterprise." 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 honour
Than Hve in long disgrace ! "

— a sentiment which the majority of the audience
naturally cheered to the echo ; whilst the mal-
contents slunk away to their quarters.

The next event was the arrival of some
Tlascalans wearing white badges as an indication
of peace. They brought a message, they said,
from Xicotencatl, who now desired an arrange-
ment 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,

132 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

ascertaining in that way that they were sent to
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-
ambassadors to have their hands hacked off, and
sent back to tell their lord that " the Tlascalans
might come by day 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 being 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 modera-
tion, and not trample on the liberties of the
republic.

Cortes admired the cazique's lofty spirit, while
pretending to rebuke him for having so long
remained an enemy. "He was willing to bury
the past in oblivion, and to receive the Tlascalans
as vassals to the Emperor, his master."

OF THE WEST. I33

Before the entry into Tlascala, the capital, there
arrived an embassy from Montezuma ; who had
been keenly disappointed, no doubt, that Cortes
had not only not been defeated by the bravest
race on the Mexican tableland, but had formed a
friendly alliance with them.

As Cortes, with his army, approached the
populous 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, 23rd September 15 19,
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 attach-
ment to the soil, which is the fruit of its diligent
culture ; while he was elevated by that conscious-
ness of independence, which is the natural birth-
right of a child of the mountains.

Cholula, capital of the republic of that name, is
six leagues north of Tlascala, and about twenty
south-east of Mexico. In the time of the Con-
quest of the tableland 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
honour a huge pyramid was erected here. From

134 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

the furthest parts of Anahuac devotees thronged
to Cholula, just as the Mohammedans to Mecca.

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 pyramidal
temples." After being treated with kindness and
hospitality for several days, all at once the scene
changed, the cause being the arrival of mes-
sengers from Montezuma. At the same time
some Tlascalans told Cortes that a great sacrifice,
mostly of children, had been offered to propitiate
the favour of the gods

At this juncture Marina, the Indian slave-
interpreter, 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 capital.
The plot had originated with the Aztec emperor
and 20,000 Mexicans were already quartered 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

OF THE WEST. 135

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 orders to the Tiascalan
chiefs to keep their soldiers 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 Monte-
zuma. " That pretence," said Cortes, assuming
a look of fierce indignation, " is no justification :
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 an arquebuse, 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 support
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

136 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

assistance of their Spanish aUies. The Cholulans,
when thus attacked in rear by their traditional
enemies, speedily gave way, and tried to save
themselves in the great temple and elsewhere.
The " Holy City," as it was called, was con-
verted 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 pusil-
lanimous emperor from any share in the con-
spiracy against Cortes. Continuing their march,
the allied army of Spaniards and Tlascalans, pro-
ceeded till they reached the mountains which
separate the tableland of Puebla from that
of Mexico. To cross this range they followed
the route which passes between the mighty
Popocatepetl {i.e. " the smoking mountain ") and
another called the " White Woman " from its
broad robe of snow. The first lies about forty
miles S.E. of the capital to which their march
was directed. It is more than 2000 feet higher
than Mont Blanc, and has two principal craters,
one of which is about 1000 feet deep and has
large deposits of sulphur which are regularly
mined. Popocatepetl has long been only a
quiescent volcano, but during the invasion by
Cortes it was often burning, especially at the
time of the siege of TIascala. That was naturally
interpreted all over the district of Anahuac to be
a bad omen, associated with the landing and
approach of the Spaniards. Cortes insisted on
several descents being made into the great

OF THE WEST. 137

crater till sufificient sulphur was collected to
supply gunpowder to his army. The icy cold
winds, varied by storms of snow and sleet, were
more trying to the Europeans than the Tlascalans,
but some relief was found in the stone shelters
which had been built at certain intervals along
the roads for the accommodation of couriers and
other travellers.

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 re-
mind 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
prospect 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 trackless 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, listless-
ness and despair depicted on the features of all,
Hannibal went on in front, and after ordering the

138 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 and his Carthaginians
surveying Italy for the first time is in some respects
closely analogous to that of Cortes pointing out
the valley of Mexico to his Spanish soldiers.

CHAPTER VII

CORTES AND MONTEZUMA

We have now seen the Spanish conquerors with
a large contingent of 6000 natives surmounting
the mountains to the east of the Mexican valley
and looking down upon the Lake of Tezcuco on
which were built the sister capitals. Montezuma,
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 towards Vera Cruz, the
Mexicans would pay down four loads of gold
for himself and one to each of his captains,
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
interview, and that the Spaniards came with
peaceful motives.

OF THE WEST. 139

Montezuma was now plunged in deep despair.
At last he summoned a council to consult his
nobles and especially his nephew, the young
King of Tezcuco, and his warlike brother.
The latter advised him to "muster as large an
army as possible, and drive back the invaders
from his capital or die in its defence." " Ah ! "
replied the monarch, " the gods have declared
themselves against us ! " Still another embassy
was prepared, with his nephew, lord of Tezcuco,
as 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 numerous suite. Advancing with the
Mexican salutation, he said he had been com-
manded by Montezuma 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

I40 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 irrigated
by canals introduced from the neighbouring 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
directly 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 neighbouring 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 margin and occasionally far in the lake, they
beheld little towns and villages, which half-con-
cealed by the foliage, and gathered in white
clusters round the shore, " looked in the distance
like companies 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

* Not to be confounded with the Indian village on the
shore of Lake Maracaybo, to which (with similar motive)
Vespucci had given that name — now capital of a large re-
public.

OF THE WEST. 141

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 reception
was given to Cortes and his staff, "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
buildings were of stone, and the spacious apart-
ments had roofs of odorous cedar wood, while
the walls were tapestried with fine cotton stained
with brilliant colours.

" But the pride of Iztapalapan was its cele-
brated gardens covering an immense tract of
land and laid out in regular squares. The
gardens were stocked with fruit trees, and with
the gaudy family of flowers which belonged to
the Mexican flora, scientifically arranged, and
growing luxuriant in the equable temperature of
the tableland. 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 1600 paces in
circumference, 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 afterwards applied by

142 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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
created 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 their extinct civilization, had developed
this taste for the beautiful many ages before the
most cultivated 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.

{Madoc, i. 6).

That following day, November 8, 151 9, should
be noted in every calendar, when the great
capital of the Western World admitted the con-
quering general from the Eastern World. The
invaders were now upon a larger causeway, which
stretched across the salt waters of LakeTezcuco ;
and "had occasion more than ever to admire the

OF THE WEST. 143

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 fairy islands of flowers. Half
a league from the capital they encountered a
solid work of stone, which traversed the road. It
was twelve feet high, strengthened by towers at
the extremities, and in the centre 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 shoulders.
On their necks and arms they displayed collars
and bracelets of torquoise 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.

144 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

Amidst 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 featherwork,
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
the litter came forward leaning on the arms of the
lords of Tezcuco and Iztapalapan " — the emperor'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
common 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 colour. A man
about forty ; tall and rather thin ; black hair, cut
rather short for a person of rank ; dignified in his
movements ; his features wearing an expression of
benignity 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 spark-
ling chain of coloured crystal, accompanying this
with a movement as if to embrace him, when he
was restrained by the two Aztec lords, shocked at

OF THE WEST. 14S

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 caintal,
and was again carried through the adoring crowds
in his litter. "The Spaniards quickly followed,
and with colours 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
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 flowers
. . . broad terraced gardens laid out between
the buildings. Occasionally a great square inter-
vened surrounded by its porticoes of stone and
stucco ; or a pyramidal temple reared its colossal
bulk crowned with its tapering sanctuaries, 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
unknown ; 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 complexions,"

« K

146 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 centre 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
sanctity." The present famous cathedral of
modern Mexico is built on part of the same site.

A palace built opposite the west side of the
great temple was assigned to Cortes. It was
extensive enough to accommodate the whole of
the army of Cortes. Montezuma having paid
him a visit there for a long conversation, through
the indispensable assistance of Marina, the slave-
interpreter. " 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 sulphureous vapour reminding the in-
habitants of the explosions of the great volcano
(Popocatepetl) filled the hearts of the superstitious
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 elo-
quence and power of argument in attempting the
"conversion" of Montezuma to the Christian
faith.

OF THE WEST. 147

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
condition 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 worshipped 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 simple rite of the
mass. It was to snatch the emperor's soul and
the souls of his people from the flames of eternal
fire that the Christians had come to his land."

Montezuma replied that the God of the
Spaniards must be a good being, and " my
gods also are good to me ; there was no need
for further discourse 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 convinced that these were
idle tales ; that the Spaniards were kind and
generous in their nature." He concluded by
admitting the superiority of the sovereign of
Cortes beyond the seas. " Your sovereign is the
rightful lord of all : I rule in his name."

The rough Spanish cavaliers were touched by
the kindness and affability ot Montezuma. As
they passed him, says Diaz, in his " History,"

148 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

they made him the most profound obeisance,
hat in hand ; and on the way home could dis-
course 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
apparently become reconciled to the presence of
his formidable guests, we may pause to consider
the surroundings.

The present capital occupies the site of
Tenochtitlan, but many changes have occurred
in the 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 excavating a tunnel to
drain off" the flood. This was constructed about
one hundred years after the invasion of the
Spaniards and has been described by Humboldt
as " one of the most stupendous hydraulic works
in existence."

The appearance of the lake and suburbs of the
capital have long lost much of the attractive
appearance they had at the time of the Spanish
visit J but the town itself is still the most

OF THE WEST.

149

brilliant city in Spanish America, surmounted
by a Cathedral which forms "the most sump-
tuous 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 sui)plied by
earthen pipes was from a hill about two
miles distant. Besides the palaces and temples
there were several important buildings : an
armoury filled with weapons and military
dresses ; a granary ; 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 sea-shore.
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
politely sent as guides.

ISO EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

On their way to the central square the Spaniards
"were struck with the ap[)earance of the inhabi-
tants, 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 petticoats of
different lengths, with highly ornamented 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 exposed ; and their
dark raven tresses floated luxuriantly over their
shoulders, revealing features, which although of a
dusky or rather cinnamon hue, were not unfre-
quently pleasing, while 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
towards 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, thrice 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
jewellers of Cholula, the painters of Tezcuco, the
stonecutters, hunters, fishermen, fruiterers, mat
and chair makers, florists, etc., etc. The pottery
department was a large one ; so were the armouries
for implements of war ; razors and mirrors — booths
for apothecaries with drugs, roots and medical
preparations. In other places again, blank books

OF THE WEST. 151

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 poultry, game from
the neighbouring mountains, fish from the lakes
and streams, fruits in all the delicious 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 periodical
fairs in Europe, not as they now exist, but as
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 amongst 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 ieocalli 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

152 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

space, surrounded by a high stone wall, orna-
mented on the outside by figures of serpents raised
in relief, and pierced by huge battlemented gate-
ways opening on the four principal streets of the
capital. The teocalli itself was a solid pyramidal
structure of earth and pebbles, coated on the
ouiside 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
in the religious ceremonials, when the pompous
procession of priests with their wild minstrelsy
came sweeping round the huge sides of the
pyramid, as they rose higher and higher towards
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
tlieir view was a large block uf jasper, the peculiar
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 sanc-
tuaries, consisting of three stories, the lower one

OF THE WEST. 153

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 services, and with
the ashes of some of their Aztec princes who had
fancied this airy sepulchre. Before each sanctuary
stood an altar, with that undying 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 serpents' skins, and
struck only on extraordinary occasions, when it
sent forth a melancholy weird sound that might
be heard for miles " over the country, indicating
fierce anger of the deity against the enemies of
Mexico.

As Cortes reached the summit he was met by
the emperor himself attended by the high priest.
Taking the general by the hand, Montezuma
pointed out the chief localities in the wide pro-
spect 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 circular range of mountains, and the wreaths
of vapour rolling up from the hoary head of
Popocatepetl.

Cortes was allowed " to behold the shrines of
the gods. They found themselves in a spaci-
ous apartment with sculptures on the walls,
representing the Mexican calendar, or the
priestly ritual. Before the altar in this sanc-
tuary stood the colossal image of Huitzilo-

154 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

pochtli, the tutelary deity and war-god of the
Aztecs. His countenance was distorted into
hideous hneaments of symboUcal import. The
huge folds of a serpent, consisting of pearls and
precious stones, were coiled round his waist, and
the same rich materials 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, suspended round his neck,
emblematical of the sacrifice in which he most
delighted. A more unequivocal 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 honour to that invisible Being
the Supreme God, who was represented by no
image, and confined by no temple. He was re-
presented as a young man, and his image of
polished black stone was richly garnished with
gold plates and ornaments. But the homage to
this god was not always of a more refined or
merciful character than that paid to his carni-
vorous 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 Mon-
tezuma could have faith " in such evil spirits
as these idols, the representatives of the DeviU

OF THE WEST. 155

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
general did when persecuting Madame de Stael,
because in her " Germany " she had omitted to
mention 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
buildings served as seminaries for the instruction
of youth of both sexes ; and according to the
Spanish accounts of the teaching and manage-
ment of these institutions there was "the greatest
care for morals and the most blameless deport-
ment."

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

1S6 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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
Montezuma in his palace and carry him as a
prisoner to the Spanish quarters. He hoped
thus to have in his own hands the supreme man-
agement 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 battle,
and that the head of a Spaniard, then slain, had
been sent to the emperor, after being shown in
triumph throughout some of the 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 emperor was said to be the cause.

OF THE WEST. 157

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 burnt 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 Monte-
zuma, and the victims submitting to their fate
without a murmur.

Cortes returning then to the room where
Montezuma was imprisoned, unclasped the fetters
and said he was now 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 extinguished by all the great conquering
generals who have crushed nations under foot.
Besides those of prehistoric times in Asia and
Europe, we have examples in Alexander the

158 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

Greek, Julius Caesar the Roman, Cortes and
Pizarro the Spaniards, 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
motions of the Spaniards. He " beheld with
indignation and contempt the abject condition
of his uncle ; and now set about forming a
league with several of the neighbouring caziques
to break the detested yoke of the Spaniards."
News of this league reached the ears of
Cortes, and arresting him with the permission
of Montezuma, he deposed him, and ap-
pointed 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 Monte2uma an ;u knowledgment of the

OF THE WEST. 159

supremacy 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 returned, bringing back large quantities
of gold and silver plate, rich stuffs, etc." To
this Montezuma 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, together with
imitations of birds, insects or flowers, 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 pre-
cious 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
this Mexican gift was about ;^i, 41 7,000, 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

i6o EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

the fleet. The garrison of Vera Cruz was also to
be provided for. The cavalry, musketeers, and
crossbowinen each received double pay." Thus
for each of the common soldiers there was only
loo ^pXdipesos — i.e.,j[^2\y. 100 = ^^262, ids. 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 con-
version of the Aztec nation from heathenism. The
bloody ritual of the teocallis 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
summit of the temple should be granted to the
Christians 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 ser-
vice of the mass. In conclusion, "as the
beautiful Te Deiim rose toward heaven, Cortes
and his soldiers kneeling on the ground, with
tears streaming from their eyes, poured forth
their gratitude to the Almighty for this glorious
triumph of the Cross." Such a union of
heathenism and Christianity was too unnatural
to continue.

OF THE WEST. i6i

A few days later the emperor sent for Cortes
and earnestly advised him to leave the country
at once. Cortes replied that ships were necessary.
Montezuma agreed to supply timber and work-
men, 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, 15 19, 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 c?rown 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
ornaments and the rich colours of the Mexican
feather-work. The opposition of the Bishop of
Burgos thwarted the conqueror of Mexico as he
had already successfully opposed the schemes
of the " Great Admiral " and his son Diego
Columbus. We shall presently see how this
influential ecclesiastic was able to thwart Balbao
when governor of Darien.

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

i62 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

infantry, 120 cross-bowmen and twelve pieces
of artillery. To command these Velasquez
chose a hidalgo named Narvaez, who had
assisted formerly in subduing Cuba and His-
paniola. The personal appearance of Nervaez,
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, accompanied
the Spanish general to the southern causeway.

When Cortes was within fifteen leagues' distance
of Zempoalla, where Narvaez was encamped, the
latter sent a message that if his authority were
acknowledged he would supply ships to Cortes
and his army so that all who wished might freely
leave the country with all their property.

Cortes however with his usual astuteness,
replied : " If Narvaez bears a royal commission
I will readily submit to him. But he has pro-
duced none. He is a deputy of my rival,
Velasquez. For myself, I am a servant of the
king ; I have 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."

OF THE WEST. 163

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 sentinels were on guard. Narvaez,
badly wounded, was taken prisoner on the top
of a teocalli; and in a very short time his
army was glad to capitulate. The horse-
soldiers whom Narvaez had sent to waylay one
of the roads to Zempoalla, rode in soon after to
tender their submission. The victorious general,
seated in a chair of state, with a richly embroidered
Mexican mantle on his shoulders, received his
congratulations from the officers and soldiers of
both armies. Narvaez and several others were
led in chains.

Cortes not only defeated Narvaez, but, after the
battle, enlisted under his standard the Spanish
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 revolt
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 ot the Spaniards in
Mexico, Cortes found that Alvarado had pro-
voked the insurrection by a massacre of the
Aztec populace.

Having entered the precincts with his army,

1 64 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

Cortes at once made anxious preparation 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 danger 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 any-
thing like the desperation shown by these Indians.

Cortes at last drew off his men and sounded a
retreat, taking refuge in the fortress. The Mexi-

OF THE WEST. 165

cans encamped round it, and during the night
insulted 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
patience and submission formerly shown in
deference to the injured Montezuma was now
replaced by concentrated arrogance and ferocity.
The Spanish general even stooped to request the
interposition of the Aztec Emperor ; and, at last,
when assured that the foreigners would leave his
country if a way were opened through the Mexi-
can 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 emeralds 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 sur-
rounded 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
curiosity. 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.

To call himself a friend of the hateful Spaniards
was a fatal argument. Instead of respecting their

1 66 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

monarch, though in his official robes, the popu-
lace howled angry curses at him as a degenerate
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 temple,
at a short distance from the Spanish quarters.
From this commanding position they kept shoot-
ing a deadly flight of arrows on the Spaniards.
Cortes sent his chamberlain, Escobar, with a body
of men to storm the temple, but, after three
efforts, the party had to relinquish the attempt.
Cortes himself then led a storming party, and
after some determined fighting reached the plat-
form 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 battlement ; and the combatants, as they struggled
in mortal agony, were sometimes seen to roll over
the sheer sides of the precipice together. Cortes
himself had a narrow escape from this dreadful

OF THE WEST. 167

fate. . . . The number of the enemy was double
that of the Christians ; but the invulnerable armour
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 burnt 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
Triste, 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

168 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

their brigantines the Spanish soldiers now began
the siege of Mexico — "the most memorable even
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
Europe, the emperor honoured him with the order
of St Jago and the title of marquis. Latterly,
however, after some failures in his exploring
expeditions, Cortes on his return to Spain, found
himself treated with neglect. It was then,
according 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, 2nd Dec.

1547-

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

OF THE WEST. 169

second, but it must be remembered that Pizarro's
scheme of discovering and invading Peru was
precisely that which Balboa had already prepared.
Pizarro could afford to say, " Others have laboured,
and I have merely entered into their labours."

What then was the work done by Balboa, and
what prevented him from taking Peru ? In 15 10,
the year before the conquest of Cuba, Balboa
was glad to escape from Hispaniola, not to
avoid the Spanish cruelties, like Hatuey, the luck-
less cazique, but to escape from his Spanish
creditors. So anxious was he to get on board
that he concealed himself in a cask to avoid
observation. Balboa, however, had administra-
tive qualities, and after taking possession of the
uncleared district 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 pesti-
lential was the district (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
several 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 travelling six days to

I70 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

the south they should see another ocean near
which lay the wealthy kingdom.

Resolving to cross the isthmus, notwithstand-
ing a thousand formidable obstructions, Balboa
formed a party consisting of 190 veterans, accom-
panied by 1000 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 miL;ht 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 transports of joy
rushed forward to join in his wonder, exultation and
gratitude.

That was the moment, 25th September 15 13,
immortalised in Keat'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.

Balbao hurried down the western slope of the
isthmus range to take formal possession in the
name of the Spanish monarch. He found a
fishing 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 illus-
trate the difficulties of the expedition, that of all
the 190 men in his party there w^ere never more

OF THE WEST. 171

than eighty fit for service at one time. Notwith-
standing the wonderful news of the discovery of
the "great southern ocean" as the Pacific was
then called, Ferdinand overlooked the great
services of Ealboa, and appointed a new governor
of Darien called Pedrarias, who instituted a judicial
inquiry into some previous transactions of Balboa,
imposing a heavy fine as punishment. The new
governor committed other actions 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 Balboa in all his operations, and to
consult with him concerning every measure
which he himself pursued."

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 afterwards undertook the same expedi-
tion), he was on the point of sailing towards the
coasts of which they had such expectations, when
a message arrived from Pedrarias. Balboa being
unconscious of crime, agreed to delay the
expedition, and meet Pedrarias for conference.
On entering the palace Balboa was arrested
and immediately tried on the charge of dis-
loyalty to the king and intention of revolt against
the governor. He was speedily sentenced to

172 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

death, although 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 astonishment and sorrow, the public execu-
tion of a man 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 original cause of Balboa being superseded
as governor of Darien.

The expedition designed by Balboa was now
relinquished ; but the removal of the colony soon
afterwards to the Pacific side of the isthmus may
be considered a step towards the realisation of an
exactly similar attempt by Pizarro.

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

* E.g. Paterson, founder of the Bank of England,
Fletcher of Saltoun, the Manjuis of Tweeddale, then chief
Minister of Scotland, Sir John Dalrymple, etc.

OF THE WEST. 173

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 continued the scheme. Some 1200
men "set sail from Leith amidst the blessings of
many thousands of their assembled countrymen.
They reached the Gulf of Darien in safety, and
established themselves on the coast in localities
to which they gave the names of New Caledonia
and New St Andrews." The government of
Spain (secretly instigated, it was believed, by the
English king), resolved to attack the embryo
colony. The shipwreck 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 what-
ever. 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
terrible tales told in Europe of mutilation, torture
and revenge. The Windward Islands having
been gradually settled by French and English

1 74 EXTINCT CIVILIZA TIONS

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
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 valour, the same thirst of spoil,
and the same brutal inhumanity to their captives."
The pride and presumption of Spain was 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 govern-
ment 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
resumed their conflict with the Spanish, and in
1670, Henry Morgan, with 1500 English and
French rufifians 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 Cliagres river,
they forced their way through the entangled
forests for ten days, and after much hardship
reached Panama, to find it defended by a regular
army of twice their number. The Spaniards,

* Named from boucan, a kind of preserved meat, used
by those rovers. They had learned this peculiar art of
preserving from the native Caribs.

OF THE WEST. I7S

however, were beaten, and Morgan thoroughly
sacked and plundered the city, taking captive all
the chief citizens in order to extort afterwards
large ransoms.

Ten years afterwards the isthmus of Darien was
crossed by Dampier, another celebrated buccaneer,
but his party were too small to attack Panama.
They seized some Spanish vessels in the bay and
plundered all the coast for some distance. The
following description by the bold buccaneer is not
without interest to those who consider the present
importance of the place : —

Near the river side stands New Panama, a very
handsome city, in a spacious bay of the same name,
into which disembogue many long and navigable
rivers, some whereof are not without gold ; 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
isthmus being only 30 miles, there have
naturally been many engineering proposals to
connect the Pacific and Atlantic oceans by a
canal. M. Lesseps founded a French company
in 1 88 1 for the construction of a ship canal with
eight locks, and over 46 miles in length ;
but in 1889, the excavations stopped after some

176 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST.

48^ millions of cubic metres of earth and rock
had been removed. 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 Campeachy
from the Pacific, and failing the Panama Canal
some engineers were in favour of a Ship Raihvay
for conveying large vessels bodily from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. The scheme met with
great favour 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
Guatemala. One obvious advantage of this
Ship Canal is that the great lake is utilised,
affording already about one-third of the water
way ; only 28 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 (S. Juan) by a stone wall
70 feet high and 1900 long, thus raising 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) Peruviafi Archaology

As the extinct civilization of the Incas of Peru
is the most important phase of development
among all the American races, so also their
prehistoric remains are extremely interesting to
the archaeologist.

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 cannot be
inserted between them. The strength of the
masonry is sometimes assisted hy having the
projecting parts of a stone fitting into corre-
sponding hollows or recesses in the stone above
or below it. The stones being frequently ex-
tremely hard granite, or basalt, etc., antiquarian
travellers 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
labourers among savage and primitive races. It
is believed by most antiquarians that long before
the period of the Incas there was a powerful
empire to which we must attribute such Cyclopean
ruins ; especially as the construction and style

M ^^^

I7S EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE WEST.

differ so greatly from what is found in the Inca
period. The huge stones occur at Tiahuanacu
(near Lake Titicaca), Cuzco, OUantay and the
altar of Concacha. Fig. i is a broken doorway
at Tiahuanacu, composed of a huge monolith.
Fig. 2 is an enlargement of the image over the
doorway shown in fig. i. The doorway forms
the entrance to a quadrangular area (400 yds. by

Monolith Doorway. Near Lake Titicaca. Fig. i.

350) surrounded by large stones standing on end.
The gateway or doorway of fig. i is one of the
most marvellous 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
traditions of an ancient " extinct civilization.
The figure in high relief above the doorway

Image over the doorway shown in Fig. i.
Near Lake Titicaca. Fig. 2,

I So EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

(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
sceptre 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
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
supporting terraces and parapets. . . . The
stones are of blue limestone, of enormous size
and irregular in shape, but fitted into each other
with rare precision. One stone is 27 feet high
by 14; and others 15 feet high by 12 are common
throughout the work."

In all the architecture of the pre-historic
Peruvians the true arch is not found, though
there is an approach to the " Maya arch " for-

OF THE WEST.

ISI

merly described, finishing the doorway overhead
by overlapping stones.

The immense fortresses of OUantay and Pisac
are reahy hills which, by means of encircling
walls, have been transformed into immense
pyramids 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 ancient
Peruvians was already noticed (a Chap. IV.).

To the south of Cuzco are the ruins of a
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 confidendy to
distinct evidence of a still more primitive race —
to be compared, perhaps, with those builders of
" Druidic monuments " whom it is now the fashion
to call " neohthic 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
our own country as well as Brittany and other
parts of Europe. Some of those Peruvian crom-
lechs consist of four great slabs of slate, each
about five feet high, four or five in width, and

1 82 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

more than an inch thick. A fifth is placed over
them. Over the whole 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 Maidstone, bore to the temple-builders of
Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. If they had to
retreat, as the ice-sheet was driven further 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.— ^\\Q ancient Peruvians attained
great skill in the distribution of water — especially
for irrigation. Artificial lakes or reservoirs were
formed, so that by damming up the streams in
the rainy season a good supply was created for
the dry season. Some great monuments still
remain of their hydraulic engineering, such as
extensive cisterns, solid dykes 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 ])ublic
shelters were erected for travellers, and some of
these still offer the best lodging-houses to be

OF THE WEST. 183

found along the routes. Bridges were of wood,
of ropes made from maguey fibre, or of stone.
Some of the latter are still in excellent condition,
in spite of the violence of the mountain 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
imagination. That is largely explained by their
lack of suitable tools.

5. Goldsmith's Work. — In this branch of art
the ancient Peruvians greatly excelled, especially
in inlaying and gilding. Gold-beating and gilding
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, butterflies
and the like.

6. Pottery. — In this department of industrial
art the pre-historic Peruvians showed much
aptitude, 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, persons in various positions, faces
(often with graphic individuality). Some jars
exactly resembled the "magic vases" which are

1 84

EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

still found in Hindostan, 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 colour. "Spinning,
weaving and dyeing," to quote Sir C. R. Mark-
ham, " were arts which were sources of employ-
ment 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
woollen mantles,
ornamented with
borders of small
square plates of
gold and silver \
coloured cotton
cloths worked in

. complicated pat-

^ ^"'P"- terns ; and fabrics

of aloe fibre and sheep's sinews for breeches.

Coarser cloths of llama wool were also made in

vast quantities.''

8. The quipu {i.e. "knot"). — Without writing
or even any of the simpler forms of pictographs
which some Indian races inferior to them in
refinement 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.

OF THE WEST. 185

except the quipti. It consisted of one principal
cord about two feet long held horizontally; to
which other cords of various colours 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 colour, and each knot
had so many conventional significations ; thus
white =?,\\\ ex, green = corn, ve/Iow = gold ; but in
another quipu, zc'/a'fe = peace, red = war, soldiers,
etc. The quipu was originally only a means of
numeration and keeping accounts, thus :

a single knot= 10
a double ,, = 100
a triple ,, = 1000

two singles = 20

two doubles = 200

etc.

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
centre of their civilization the shores of Lake
Titicaca.

10. T/ie Ana'ent Capital. — Cuzco, the centre 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 archaeology. 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

iS6

EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 fittmg to surpass the

Gold Ornament (? Zodiac) from a tomb at Ciizco.

skill and accuracy displayed in the Inca structures
of Cuzco." To obtain the site for their capital
the Incas had to carry out a great engineering
work, by confining two mountain torrents between
walls of substantial masonry so solid as to serve
even to modern times. The valley of Cuzco was
the source of the Peruvian civilization, centre and
origin of the empire. Hence the name, Cuzco =
"navel," just as the ancient Greeks called Athens

OF THE WEST. 187

umbilicus ferrae, and our New England cousins
fondly refer to Boston, U.S.A., as "the hub of
the universe " !

§ (B). Fern 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
taught the women to spin and weave. From
them were lineally derived all the Incas. As re-
presenting 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 dignity, all
power, all emolument. Louis le Magnifique when
at the height of his power might be taken as a
type of the emperor Inca : both could literally
use the phrase, Litat desi 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

* According to Sir C. R. Markham, F.R.S.

1 88 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 princii:)al highways, both joining Quito
to Cuzco and then passing south to Chile. First,
the high level road, 1600 miles in length, crossing
the great Peruvian tableland, and conducted
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. The roadway
consisted of heavy flags of freestone. Secondly,
the low level highway along the coast country
between the Andes and the Pacific. The pre-
historic engineers had here to encounter quite a
different task. The causeway was raised on a
high embankment 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 indicate the route.

Another colossal effort was the conveyance of
water to the rainless country by the sea coast,
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 calendar
for a year :

I, K?iym:\,^\\& Festival of the Wititer Solstice

in honour of the Sun . 22 June.

Season of ploughing. . 22 July.

Season of sowing . . 22 August.

OF THE WEST. 189

II. Festival of tJie Spring Eguhiox 22 September.
Season of brewing . . 22 October.

Commemoration of the Dead 22 November.

III. Festival of t/ie Summer Solstice 22 December.

Season of exercises . . 22 January.

Season of ripening . . 22 February.

IV. Festival of Atitumn Equinox 22 March.

Beginning of Harvest . 22 April.

Harvesting month . . 22 May.

Since Quito is exactly on the equator, the
vertical rays of the sun at noon during the
Equinox cast no shadow. That northern capital,
therefore, vvas " held in especial veneration as
the favoured 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 rnirror
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 Panathenea of ancient Athens,
when the people of Attica ascended in splendid
procession to the shrine on the Acropolis.

In Mexico the Spanish travellers often experi-
enced severe famines ; and in India, even at the
present day (to the disgrace perhaps of our
management) nearly every year many thousands
die of hunger. It was very different under the
ancient 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 Tambos or public storeliouses, as a stated
provision for times of scarcity."

190 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

The Spaniards found those pre-historic agricul-
turists utiHzing 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
fertilizer.

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 further 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 amongst the Spanish
soldiers in Panama there were two who deter-
mined to carry out Balboa's scheme. The
younger, Pizarro, was destined to rival Cortes
as explorer and conqueror ; Almagro his com-
panion 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 WEST. 191

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.

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 four hundred men in
uniform : the Inca himself, on a couch adorned with
plumes, and almost covered with plates of gold and
silver enriched with precious stones, was carried on
the shoulders of his principal attendants. Several
bands of singers and dancers accompanied the pro-
cession ; and the whole plain was covered with
troops, more than 30,000 men.

After engaging in a religious dispute with the

192 EXTINCT CIVILIZATIONS

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 horse rallied out fiercely to the charge,
the infantry rushed on sword in hand. The Peruvians,
astonished at the suddenness of the attack, dismayed
with the effect of the firearms and the irresistible im-
pression of the cavalry, fled with universal consterna-
tion 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
millions sterling.

Instead of keeping faith with the Inca by
restoring him to liberty, Pizarro basely allowed
him to be tried on several false charges and con-
demned to be burnt alive.

After hearing of the enormous ransom many
Spaniards hurried from Guatimala, Panama, and
Nicaragua to share in the newly discovered booty
of Peru the "land of gold." Pizarro, therefore,
being now greatly reinforced with soldiers, "forced
his way to Cuzco, the capital. The riches found
there exceeded in value what had been received
as Atahualpa's ransom."

As Governor of Peru, Pizarro chose a new site
for his capital, nearer the coast than Cusco, and
there founded Lima. It is now a great centre of
trade, Pizarro lived here in great state till
the year 1542, when his fate reached him by

OF THE WEST. 193

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, 26th June, 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, intrepidly defending himself with a
sword and buckler. " A deadly thrust full in the
throat," and the tale of daring Pizarro was told.

Raro antecedenteni scelestum
Deseruit pede Poena claudo.

—"When
Did Doom, though lame, not bide its time,
To clutch the nape of sculking Crime ? "

— W. E. Gladstone.

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