Page:Notes of the Mexican war 1846-47-48.djvu/570

564 continually at war with one another until 963,—some have it 1064,—when they elected Xolotli first king, Napoltzin the second king, and so on until the seventh tribe, Navatlancos, or Aztlancos (Aztecs) came from their country, then called Aztlan, now called New Mexico. They are the first original Mexicans. The time when the seven tribes of Aztlancos emigrated out of their country was, as their most ancient histories declare, in the year 940, and they arrived in the valley of Mexico in 1220, and founded Tenochitiltan, or Tenustitan—now Mexico—in 1324. It is said that they were like the Israelites, who spent over forty years in their journey and marched many miles, with a thousand inconveniences, from one country to another.

Being constantly at war with each other, they finally concluded to divide themselves. After this manner, four of these tribes marched on until they came to a spring of clear water, in which the fishes glittered like silver, and there encamped for the night. The other remaining tribes marched in another direction, and settled near the mountains and in the fertile valley called Tlascallian. The next morning the four tribes rose from their night's slumber, and their spirit-god, Witzilopochtli, or Viztliputlic, who was a kind of profeta (prophet) and bishop among their people, and who, after his death, was cut in the form from wood and worshipped as their devil idol god until the conquest of Mexico by Cortes. This idol god, Viztliputlic, informed his tribe of a dream he had that night, that they should find thereabouts a tunal tree, whose leaves grew out of one another, under which, on a stone, lay the heart of a famous sorcerer, Copil.

This tunal tree should be discovered by a crane on the top of it, which in one foot should hold a bird, and in the other a bough of the tree, near which they were to build a city. That city is now the city of Mexico.

After the old priest Viztliputli had related his dream, most of his tribe went tp work to endeavor to find out the forementioned tree. At last they found it, and saw on the top a