Page:The Conquest of Mexico Volume 1.djvu/507



Page 238 (2).—It is the same taste which has made the Castiles, the tableland of the peninsula so naked of wood. Prudential reasons, as well as taste, however, seem to have operated in New Spain. A friend of mine on a visit to a noble hacienda, but uncommonly barren of trees, was informed by the proprietor, that they were cut down to prevent the lazy Indians on the plantation from wasting their time by loitering in their shade!

Page 238 (3).—The correct Indian name of the town, Txiacomoxtitlán, Tatacomostitlán of Cortés, will hardly be recognised in the Xalacingo of Diaz. The town was removed, in 1601, from the top of the hill to the plain. On the original site are still visible remains of carved stones of large dimensions, attesting the elegance of the ancient fortress or palace of the cacique.—Viaje, ap. Lorenzana, p. 14.

Page 239 (1).—For an account of the diplomatic usages of the people of Anahuac, see ante, p. 28.

Page 240 (1).—According to Bernal Diaz, the stones were held by a cement so hard that the men could scarcely break it with their pikes. (Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 62.) But the contrary statement, in the general's letter, is confirmed by the present appearance of the wall.—Viaje, ap. Lorenzana, p. vii.

Page 240 (2).—Viaje, ap. Lorenzana, p. vii. The attempts of the archbishop to identify the route of Cortés have been very successful. It is a pity that his map illustrating the itinerary should be so worthless.

Page 240 (3).—Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.—Gomara, Crónica, cap. 44, 45.—Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., MS., cap. 83.—Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 6, cap. 3.—Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 2.—Peter Martyr, De Orbe Novo, dec. 5, cap. 1.

Page 241 (1).—The Indian chronicler, Camargo, considers his nation a branch of the Chichemec. (Hist. de Tlascala, MS.) So also Torquemada. (Monarch. Ind., lib. 3, cap. 9.) Clavigero, who has carefully investigated the antiquities of Anahuac, calls it one of the seven Nahuatlac tribes. (Stor. del Messico, tom. i. p. 153, nota.) The fact is not of great moment, since they were all cognate races, speaking the same tongue, and, probably, migrated from their country in the far North at nearly the same time.

Page 242 (1).—The descendants of these petty nobles attached as great value to their pedigrees, as any Biscayan or Asturian in Old Spain. Long after the Conquest, they refused, however needy, to dishonour their birth by resorting to mechanical or other plebeian occupations, oficios viles y bajos. "The descendants of these are esteemed as men of standing, who, although they may be very poor, will not engage in manual labour, nor in mean or low occupations. They will not carry nor wield spades and picks, since they say that they are men of family, who may not undertake squalid or menial tasks, but claim service in the field and in camp, and the warrior's death, as their birthright."—Hist. de Tlascala, MS.

Page 243 (1).—A full account of the manners, customs, and domestic policy of Tlascala is given by the national historian, throwing much light on the other states of Anahuac, whose social institutions seem to have been all cast in the same mould.

Page 244 (1).—Camargo, Hist. de Tlascala, MS.—Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 2, cap. 70.

Page 245 (1).—Camargo (Hist. de Tlascala, MS.) notices the extent of Montezuma's conquests,—a debatable ground for the historian.

Page 245 (2).—Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 3, cap. 16. Solis says, "The Tlascalan territory was fifty leagues in circumference, ten long, from east to west, and four broad, from north