Page:About Mexico - Past and Present.djvu/180

172 had been the home of Feathered Serpent ages before. An elegant temple in his honor crowned the great pyramid which the Aztecs and kindred tribes found there when they entered the valley. It was now a great resort for pilgrims, who came in multitudes to worship at this ancient shrine.

The spirit of Feathered Serpent had, however, long ago died out of his worship. Here, where he had been best known and loved, his altars reeked with human blood. It is said that six thousand victims were yearly slaughtered in this city alone.

The wide, clean streets and massive houses were noted with great admiration by the army, who now entered the city. It contained about twenty thousand houses, and, as we have seen, these were always occupied by many related families. The population was probably about two hundred thousand.

A large temple with its surrounding courtyard was given to Cortez for the accommodation of his men, who, with the exception of the Tlascalans, were all quartered within the city walls. Provisions were sent to them, "although not in a bountiful manner," as Cortez complained. Every day the fare provided for the army grew worse. The Cholulans explained that corn was scarce, but those who looked out on the waving fields around them concluded that this was an excuse unworthy of so wealthy a people. It was noted, also, that the chiefs paid very few visits to the Spanish quarters. Their guests soon began to compare notes among themselves. Some had observed the loaded house-roofs here and there, where piles of stone could be hidden behind parapets or among the flowering plants with which they were often adorned. The watchful Totonacs, who had the liberty