The burning of an immense tract of forest lying to the west of Azcapuzalco toward the Matlaltzinco region, is recorded by one authority as having occurred in 1471;[VIII-37] and in the next year took place the death of Nezahualcoyotl, the king of Acolhuacan, and considered as the greatest and wisest of the Chichimec monarchs. His adventures in early life while deprived of his ancestral throne have cast a glamour of romance about his name; and the fortitude with which he supported his misfortunes, his valor in regaining the Tezcucan throne, and the prominent part taken by him in the wars of the allies, are enthusiastically praised by his biographers. His chief glory, however, depends not on his valor as a warrior, but on his wisdom and justice as a ruler. During his reign his domain had been increased in extent far less than that of Mexico; but he had made the city of Tezcuco the centre of art, science, and all high culture—the Athens of America, as Clavigero expresses it, of which he was the Solon—and his kingdom of Acolhuacan a model of good government. Such was his inflexibility in the administration of justice and enforcement of the laws, that several of his own sons, although much beloved, were put to death for offenses against law and morality. Official corruption met no mercy at his hands, but toward the poor, the aged, and the unfortunate, his kindness was unbounded. He was in the habit of traveling incognito among his subjects, visiting the lower classes, relieving misfortune, and obtaining useful hints for the perfection of his code of laws, in which he took especial pride. Ever the promoter of education and culture, he was himself a man of learning in various branches, and a poet of no mean talent.[VIII-38] His religious views, if correctly reported by the historians, were far in advance of those of his contemporaries or of the Europeans who in the cause of religion overthrew Tezcucan culture; he seems to have been unable to resist the Aztec influence in favor of human sacrifices, but he deserves the credit of having opposed the shedding of blood and ridiculed the deities that demanded it. The only dishonorable action of his life is the method by which he obtained his queen, and that may have received a false coloring at the hands of unfriendly annalists. Some of his poems were afterwards regarded as prophecies, in which was vaguely announced the coming of the Spaniards. He died in 1472, leaving over a hundred children by his concubines, but only one legitimate son.[VIII-39]

Feeling that his death was near, Nezahualcoyotl had assembled his family and announced Nezahualpilli as heir to the throne. He informed his older natural sons that only by leaving the throne to a legitimate successor could he hope to secure a peaceful succession and future prosperity. He expressed great esteem for his oldest son Acapipioltzin, who was now at the head of his armies, and great confidence in his ability, calling upon him to serve as guardian and adviser of Nezahualpilli, at the time only eight years old, during his minority, and to protect his interests against possible attempts of his other brothers to usurp the crown. Acapipioltzin promised to obey his wishes, and was ever after faithful to his promise. Several authors say that the king gave orders that his death should not be announced until after his son was firmly seated on the throne; others state that it was a popular belief among the common people that Nezahualcoyotl had not died, but had been called to a place among the gods. After the funeral of the dead king, at which assisted an immense crowd of nobles, even from foreign and hostile provinces, such as Tlascala, Cholula, Tehuantepec, Pánuco, and Michoacan, three of his sons showed such evident designs of disloyalty to the appointed successor, that the young prince was removed to Mexico by his Aztec and Tepanec colleagues, and the ceremony of coronation was performed there. Axayacatl is said to have spent most of his time in Tezcuco during Nezahualpilli's minority, and it is not improbable that he took advantage of his colleague's youth to strengthen his own position as practically head of the empire.[VIII-40]

In the year of Axayacatl's accession three hills trembled in Xuchitepec, that is, there was an earthquake foreboding disaster, which came upon the people in 1472, in the shape of an Aztec army under Axayacatl. During a raid of a few days, the province was ravaged and a crowd of captives brought back to die on the altars of Huitzilopochtli. Such is Torquemada's account, which is interpreted by Brasseur as referring to a raid across the isthmus into the Guatemalan province of Xuchiltepec, or Sochitepeques, but there seems to be very little reason for such an interpretation when we consider that there were two towns named Xuchitepec in the immediate vicinity of Anáhuac.[VIII-41]

All the authorities relate with very little disagreement that in 1473 Tlatelulco lost her independence, and was annexed to Mexico under a royal governor. Hitherto this city, notwithstanding the troubles during the reign of Montezuma resulting in the death of her king and the elevation of Moquihuix, had been more independent and enjoyed greater privileges than any of the other cities tributary to the Mexican throne. But the Tlatelulcas viewed the rapid advance of Mexican power with much jealousy; they could not forget that for many years their city had been superior to her neighbor; they were proud of their wealth and commercial reputation, and of the well-known valor of their prince Moquihuix. We have seen that there had been considerable dissatisfaction about the building of the temples a few years earlier; and frequent quarrels had taken place in the market-places between the men and women of the two cities. Duran and Tezozomoc relate certain outrages on both sides at the beginning of the final struggle. Moquihuix at last, counting on the well-known hatred and jealousy of the different nations in and about the valley toward the Aztec king, formed a conspiracy to shake off the power of Axayacatl, and invited all the surrounding nations except Tlascala, whose commercial rivalry he feared, to join it. Except Tlacopan, Tezcuco, and Tlascala, nearly all the cities of the central plateaux seem to have promised aid, and the plot began to assume most serious proportions, threatening the overthrow of the allied kings by a still stronger alliance. But, fortunately for his own safety, Axayacatl was made aware of the conspiracy almost at the beginning. It will be remembered that a near relative of his—his sister, as most authorities state—had been given to Moquihuix for a wife in reward for his bravery in the south-eastern campaign. She had been most grossly abused by her husband, and learning in some way his intentions, had revealed the plot to her brother, who was thus enabled to obtain from his allies all needed assistance, and to be on his guard at every point. I shall not attempt to form from the confused narratives of the authorities a detailed account of the battles by which Tlatelulco was conquered. At the beginning of open hostilities the wife of Moquihuix fled to Mexico. A simultaneous attack by all the rebel forces had been planned; but none of the rebel allies actually took part in the struggle, approaching the city only after the battle was over and devoting their whole energy to keep from Axayacatl the knowledge of their complicity. Moquihuix, confident of his ability to defeat the unprepared Mexicans without the aid of his allies, having excited the valor of his chieftains and soldiers by sacrificial and religious rites, giving them to drink the water in which the stone of sacrifice had been washed, began the conflict before the appointed time. For several days the conflict raged, first in one city, then in the other; but at last the Mexicans invaded Tlatelulco, sweeping everything before them. The surviving inhabitants fled to the lake marshes; the remnants of the army were driven in confusion to the market-place; and Moquihuix amid the imprecations of his own people for the rashness that had reduced them to such straits, was at last thrown down the steps of the grand temple, and his heart torn from his breast by the hand of Axayacatl himself. The city was for a time devoted to plunder; then the inhabitants were gathered from their retreats, after having been compelled—as Tezozomoc, Acosta, and Herrera tell us—to croak and cackle like the frogs and birds of the marshes in token of their perfect submission; heavy tributes were imposed, including many special taxes and menial duties of a humiliating nature; and finally the town was made a ward of Tenochtitlan under the rule of a governor appointed by the Mexican king. The re-establishment of peace was followed by the punishment of the conspirators. The Tlatelulca leaders had for the most part perished in the war, but two of them, one being the priest Poyahuitl who had performed the religious rites at the beginning of hostilities, were condemned to death. The same fate overtook all the nobles in other provinces whose share in the conspiracy could be proven. So terrible was the vengeance of Axayacatl and so long the list of its victims, that the lords of Anáhuac were filled with fear, and it was long before they dared again to seek the overthrow of the hated Aztec power.[VIII-42]

A strange anecdote is told respecting the fate of Xihuiltemoc, lord of Xochimilco, who had either taken part in the Tlatelulca war on the rebel side, or more probably had failed to aid the Mexican king in a satisfactory manner. Both Axayacatl and Xihuiltemoc were skilled in the national game of tlachtli, or the ball game, and at the festivals in honor of his victory, the former challenged the latter to a trial of skill. The Xochimilca lord, the better player of the two, was much embarrassed, fearing either to win or to allow himself to be beaten, but the king insisted, and wagered the revenues of the Mexican market and lake for a year, together with the rule of certain towns, against the city of Xochimilco, on the result. Xihuiltemoc won the game, and Axayacatl, much crest-fallen, proclaimed his readiness to pay his wager; but either by his directions, or at least according to his expectation, his opponent was strangled with a wreath of flowers concealing a slip-noose, by the people of the towns he had won, or as some say by the messengers charged to deliver the stakes.[VIII-43]

Thus far the Aztec conquests had been directed toward the south-east and south-west, while the fertile valleys of the Matlaltzincas, immediately adjoining Anáhuac on the west, had for some not very clear reason escaped their ambitious views. A very favorable opportunity, however, for conquest in this direction presented itself in 1474, when the Matlaltzincas were on bad terms with the Tarascos of Michoacan, their usual allies, and when the lord of Tenantzinco asked the aid of the Mexicans in a quarrel with Chimaltecuhtli the king. Axayacatl was only too glad to engage in an undertaking of this nature, but, in order to have a more just cause of interference—for, as Duran says, the Aztecs never picked quarrels with other nations!—he peremptorily ordered the Matlaltzincas to furnish certain building-material and a stone font for sacrificial purposes, and on their refusal to comply with his commands, marched against their province at the head of the allied troops, and accompanied, as Torquemada says, by his colleagues. Town after town in the southern part of the province fell before his arms, and were placed under Mexican governors. Such were Xalatlauhco, Atlapolco, Tetenanco, Tepemaxalco, Tlacotempan, Metepec, Tzinacantepec, and Calimaya. Some Aztec colonists were left in each conquered town, and Torquemada tells us that people were taken from the other towns to settle in the first, Xalatlauhco. Tezozomoc relates that the king at one time in this campaign concealed himself in a ditch with eight warriors, and fell upon the rear of the enemy who had been drawn on by a feigned retreat of the Aztecs, causing great panic and slaughter. Flushed with victory, the allies pressed on to attack Xiquipilco in the north, the strongest town in the province, and Toluca, the capital. Xiquipilco is spoken of as an Otomí town under the command of Tlilcuetzpalin, with whom Axayacatl had a personal combat during this battle, being wounded so severely in the thigh that he was lame for life, and narrowly escaped death. Tezozomoc claims that the Otomí chieftain was hidden in a bush and treacherously wounded the Mexican king, who was in advance of his troops; Ixtlilxochitl, ever ready to claim honor for his ancestors, tells us that it was the Acolhua commander who saved Axayacatl's life; while Clavigero and Ortega imply that a duel was arranged between the two leaders. The enemy was defeated, their leader and over eleven thousand of his men were taken captives, and the town surrendered, as did Toluca a little later, and other towns in the vicinity. The news of the conquest was received with great joy at the capital; the senate marched out to meet and receive the victorious army on its return; triumphal arches were erected at frequent intervals, and flowers were strewn in the path of the victors. The captives were sacrificed in honor of the god of war, or as Tezozomoc says, at the dedication of a new altar in his temple, except the brave Tlilcuetzpalin and a few comrades who were reserved to grace by their death another festival, which took place somewhat later. During this Matlaltzinca war a very severe earthquake was experienced.[VIII-44]

A year or two later the Matlaltzincas revolted and obtained the promise of assistance from the Tarascos, who were anxious to measure their strength against that of the far-famed Aztecs. But the Tarasco monarch was unused to the celerity of Mexican tactics, and Axayacatl's army, thirty-two thousand strong, had entered Matlaltzinco, re-captured Xiquipilco and other principal towns, crossed the frontiers of Michoacan, and captured and burned several cities, including Tangimaroa, or Tlaximaloyan, an important and strongly fortified place, before the news of their departure reached Tzintzuntzan, the Tarasco capital. But the Tarasco army, superior to that of the Aztecs, and constantly re-inforced, soon reached the seat of war, attacked the invaders with such fury that they were driven back, with great loss, to Toluca. This was doubtless the disaster indicated by an eclipse during the same year. After thus showing their power by defeating the proud warriors of the valley, the Tarascos did not follow up their advantage, but returned to their own country, leaving the Mexicans still masters of Matlaltzinco. Another attempt at revolt is vaguely recorded some years later, but in 1478 the Matlaltzinca cities were permanently joined to the Mexican domain, and the leading Matlaltzinca divinities transferred to the temples of Tenochtitlan.[VIII-45]

Axayacatl died in 1481, just after his return, as Duran informs us, from Chapultepec whither he had gone to inspect his image carved on the cliff by the side of that of Montezuma I. Brasseur states that his days were shortened by the excessive number of his concubines. He was succeeded, according to the wish of his predecessor, by Tizoc, Tizocicatzin, or Chalchiuhtona, his brother, who was succeeded in his office of commander of the army by Ahuitzotl. Duran insists that the throne was again offered to the mythical Tlacaeleltzin, who declined the honor but offered to continue to be the actual ruler during Tizoc's reign.[VIII-46]

CHAPTER IX.
THE AZTEC PERIOD—CONCLUDED.

Reign of Tizoc—Nezahualpilli defeats the Huexotzincas—Ahuitzotl, King of Mexico—Campaigns for Captives—Dedication of Huitzilopochtli's Temple—Seventy Thousand Victims—Totoquihuatzin II., King of Tlacopan—Mexican Conquests—Conquest of Totonacapan—Aztec Reverses—Successful Revolt of Tehuantepec and Zapotecapan—Conquest of Zacatollan—Anecdotes of Nezahualpilli—New Aqueduct, and Inundation of Mexico—Montezuma II. on the Throne—Condition of the Empire—Montezuma's Policy—Unsuccessful Invasion of Tlascala—Famine—Conquest of Miztecapan—Tying-up of the Cycle in 1507—Omens of coming Disaster—The Spaniards on the Coast of Central America—Trouble between Mexico and Tezcuco—Retirement and Death of Nezahualpilli—Cacama, King of Acolhuacan—Revolt of Ixtlilxochitl—Final Campaigns of the Aztecs—The Spaniards on the Gulf Coast—Arrival of Hernan Cortés.

Tizoc's coronation was preceded by a campaign in the north-east, where the provinces stretching from Meztitlan to the gulf had taken advantage of the Tlatelulca and Matlaltzinca wars to shake off the yoke of their conquerors. Tezozomoc and Duran represent this campaign as having been undertaken by Tizoc, after most extensive preparations, for the purpose of obtaining captives, but attended with little success, only about forty prisoners having been secured. The former author tells us that this war took place during Nezahualcoyotl's reign. Acosta implies that the failure resulted from Tizoc's cowardice or bad generalship. Ixtlilxochitl, followed by Brasseur, makes Nezahualpilli the leader in this his first war, accompanied by both his colleagues. He seems to have felt, notwithstanding his extreme youth, much shame at not having performed any glorious deed of arms, ruling as he did over so valorous a people as the Acolhuas, and even to have been ridiculed on the subject by his elder brothers; but in this war he made for himself a lasting reputation worthy of his ancestors and his rank. The war is represented by these authors as a succession of victories by which Cuextlan and the surrounding provinces were brought back to their allegiance. No reverses are alluded to. The captives taken were sacrificed at Tizoc's coronation, the new king attempting to surpass his predecessors by giving a series of magnificent festivals which continued for forty days.[IX-1] An expedition against Tlacotepec, mentioned by Torquemada without details, seems to be the only other war in which Tizoc engaged during his reign.[IX-2] He either lacked the valor and skill in war which distinguished his predecessors, or like the Tezcucan monarchs believed he could best promote his nation's welfare by attention to peaceful arts. Very little is recorded of this king; his reign was very short, and was marked by no very important events. During this period, however, occurred a war between Nezahualpilli and Huehuetzin, the lord of Huexotzinco. This war seems to have been caused by the plots of Nezahualpilli's brothers who had obtained the aid of Huexotzinco. According to Brasseur the Acolhua king and Huehuetzin were born in the same day and hour, and the astrologers had predicted that the former would one day be conquered by the latter, whose defeat would, however, be celebrated by the Acolhuas. Huehuetzin ascertained from the malcontent Acolhua princes a statement of the forces that were to march against him, with a description of Nezahualpilli's armor, and directed all his men to make it their chief object to kill the king. But Nezahualpilli learned the intention of his opponent, clad a captain with his armor, placed him at the head of one division of his army, while he himself in disguise took command of the other division. So furious was the attack upon the mock king that he was killed, his soldiers driven back, and the Huexotzincas elated with victory; but in the meantime the main body of the Tezcucan army came up and attacked the foe as they were chanting their song of victory. The real Nezahualpilli killed Huehuetzin in personal combat, after receiving a serious wound in the foot; the Huexotzincas were utterly routed and their city was sacked, the Acolhua king returning to his capital laden with honors and spoils. At his return to Tezcuco Nezahualpilli enclosed an area of land equal to the space that had separated him from his army during the battle, or, as some say, equal to that occupied by the Huexotzinca army, erecting within the enclosure a grand palace with magnificent gardens and immense granaries. He also completed the temple of Huitzilopochtli commenced by his father, and sacrificed at its dedication the captives brought from the last war; for although he is said to have inherited to some extent his father's repugnance to human sacrifice, he certainly consented to such sacrifices on several occasions. Tizoc also completed in 1483 the grand temple of Huitzilopochtli at Mexico, on which his predecessors had expended so much labor.[IX-3] The Mexican king, however, died in 1486, after a reign of six years. His death is reported to have occurred from the effects of poison, or, as the records have it, of magic spells, administered by certain sorceresses at the command of Techotl, lord of Iztapalapan, with the connivance of Maxtla, lord of Tlachco, probably from motives of personal spite. Some authors, as Duran, Acosta, and Herrera, assert that he was poisoned by his own subjects, who were disgusted with his cowardice and inferiority to his predecessors; but his former position as commander of the Mexican armies is opposed to the charge of cowardice, as is the indignation of the people at his murder and the summary execution of all connected with the crime.[IX-4]

Ahuitzotl, the last of the three brothers, was now called to the throne, the famous Tlacaeleltzin still refusing the crown, if we may credit Duran and Tezozomoc. During the first year of the new king's reign successful campaigns are vaguely recorded against the Mazahua region adjoining the city of Xiquipilco, against the towns of the Tziuhcoacas and Tochpanecas, subject to the kingdom of Jalisco, against the south-eastern provinces of the Miztecs and Zapotecs, and even against the Chiapanec frontiers, while Nezahualpilli in the meantime conquered Nauhtlan on the gulf coast. No details of these campaigns are given save that the fortress of Huaxyacac, in Oajaca, since known as Monte Alban,[IX-5] was built and garrisoned by the Aztecs; but the object of these wars was to procure captives for the coronation of Ahuitzotl and for the dedication of the grand temple of Huitzilopochtli, which took place in 1486 or 1487.[IX-6] This dedication was witnessed by millions of visitors, including representatives from all parts of the country, from hostile as well as friendly provinces, the former being given the best positions to view the festivities, and being loaded with rich presents at their departure. The chief feature of the exercises was the sacrifice of captives, of whom from seventy to eighty thousand perished on the altar. The victims were arranged in two lines, stretching from the temple far out on the causeways; the kings began the bloody work with their own hands, and the priests followed, each continuing the slaughter until exhausted, when another took his place. This was the most extensive sacrifice that ever took place in Anáhuac, and it was followed by others on a somewhat smaller scale in the lesser cities, among which one at Xalatlauhco in the Matlaltzinca region is particularly mentioned.[IX-7]

The campaign against the frontiers of Chiapas, during which some strongholds were taken by the Mexicans, as Chinantla and Cinacantlan, but which was altogether unsuccessful in the conquest of the Chiapanecs, is placed by Brasseur in 1488, the year after the dedication of the temple.[IX-8] In 1489 Chimalpopoca, king of Tlacopan, made a brilliant campaign against Cuextlan, although leaving many slain on the battle-field of Huexotla; but he died soon after his return, and was succeeded by his son Totoquihuatzin II. Earthquakes and the appearance of phantoms in the air had indicated approaching disasters. Sahagun also mentions an eclipse about this time.[IX-9] In the same year the allied troops conquered the southern provinces of Cozcaquauhtenanco, Quapilollan, Quauhpanco, and Quetzalcuitlapillan according to the Spanish authors, although Brasseur makes that place retain its independence down to the coming of the Spaniards. In 1490 Quauhtla, one of the strongest towns of Cuextlan on the gulf coast, was taken, giving Montezuma, afterwards king, an opportunity to display his valor and form a reputation, which he sustained in an engagement with the Huexotzincas a little later. A battle at Xonacatepec also against the Huexotzincas, aided by the forces of Totolpanco, is attributed to the same year. The captives obtained in these battles were sacrificed at the dedication of the temple of Tlacatecco, and during the ceremonies another temple in the ward called Tlillan was discovered to be on fire, and burned to the ground. The conflagration was popularly regarded as a visitation from the gods, and excited much superstitious fear.[IX-10]

Next in the catalogue of Aztec expeditions against revolting provinces was that in 1491, against the Huastecs of the north-east, who were this time assisted by the Totonacs. Something has been said of this ancient people in a preceding chapter on the pre-Toltec period. Of their history since they left, as their traditions claim, the central plateaux for the region of Zacatlan, and afterward for the gulf coast, nothing is recorded save some troubles with the Teo-Chichimecs on the first appearance of that people, a subsequent alliance with them, and a list of eight Totonac kings given by Torquemada. Their home was now the coast region of central and northern Vera Cruz, where, divided into thirty seigniories tributary to their monarch, and allied with the Tlascaltecs, they had thus far escaped the power, if not the attention, of the Aztecs. But in an evil hour they consented to help the revolting Huastecs on their northern frontier. Glad of an excuse to annex to his empire the fertile lands and flourishing towns of the Totonac coast, Ahuitzotl marched through Cuextlan, easily reducing the rebel chiefs to submission, and then directed his course southward, taking town after town until the whole province in terror gave up all hope of resistance and became subjects of the Aztec monarchs, paying tribute regularly down to the coming of the Spaniards, who landed and began their march towards Mexico in Totonac territory.[IX-11] On his return from the north-east, the south-western provinces demanded the warlike king's attention. The usual murder of traders had taken place, and the lords, as one author tells us, had refused to attend the dedication of Huitzilopochtli's temple at the capital. Oztoman was the centre of the revolting district, and with the neighboring cities of Teloloapan and Alahuiztlan was taken by assault. The inhabitants of the three towns, except the captives taken for sacrifice and the thousands massacred in the assault, were mostly brought to the valley and distributed among the towns about the lake; while the conquered districts were given to Aztec colonies, composed of poor families selected from Mexico, Tlacopan, and Tezcuco, under the command of the warriors who had distinguished themselves in the war.[IX-12]

A series of reverses to Aztec arms has next to be recorded. In 1494, as Ixtlilxochitl states, in a battle at Atlixco, Tlacahuepatzin, a son of the former king Axayacatl, was taken prisoner and sacrificed to Camaxtli the war god of the eastern plateau. The following year the Acolhua army was defeated in a battle at Tliltepec.[IX-13] But the most important events of these and the following years were the campaigns in Miztecapan, Zapotecapan, and Tehuantepec. Under the Zapotec king Cociyoeza a general revolt of all these provinces took place, accompanied by a suspension of tribute and a general plunder and murder of Aztec merchants throughout the whole country. At this time probably took place the exploit of the Tlatelulca merchants recorded by Sahagun.[IX-14] Traveling in a large company through the southern regions, they were at Quauhtenanco in Miztecapan when the persecution against their class began. As the only means of saving their lives and property, by a bold move they took possession of the town, which had unusual facilities for defence, seizing the lord and prominent men of the city, and holding them as hostages for the good conduct of the inhabitants. Here they maintained their position against all attacks during a period of four years, and even were able by occasional sorties to capture many officers and soldiers from the armies sent against them, whom they kept and fattened for the altars of their god at home. Their valor won great honors for themselves and for their class after their return to Mexico. Meanwhile all the territory and towns previously conquered by the Aztecs in Tehuantepec were retaken; most of the Mexican garrisons in the country of the Zapotecs and Miztecs farther north were forced to surrender; and besides the merchant garrison of Quauhtenanco, and the strong fortresses of Huaxyacac and Teotitlan near where the capital city of Oajaca now stands, the Aztec power was completely overthrown. Other wars nearer home, which have been alluded to above, at the time that they heard of these events, claimed the attention of the allied monarchs to such an extent that they could not direct their united force against the rebellious provinces; but soon an army of sixty thousand men, under the command of an able officer, was dispatched southward to quell the revolt and to capture Cociyoeza dead or alive. This army seems to have carried all before it in its march through the upper Zapotec regions; but no details are recorded, except that they took the sacred city of Mitla in their course, and sent her priests to die on the altars of Huitzilopochtli.[IX-15]

The march of the Aztec general was directed towards Tehuantepec, and near that city on a series of ravine-guarded plateaux the Zapotec king and his allies had fortified an immense area supposed to be sufficient to support his army by cultivation, and awaited the approach of the invaders. The ruins of Guiengola[IX-16] are supposed to be the remains of this extensive system of defensive works. Burgoa even claims that the king went so far as to form artificial ponds and to stock them with fish as a further provision against future want. The wily monarch seems to have purposely refrained from making any effort to defeat the Aztecs on their march through the upper country, simply giving orders to such chieftains as remained to guard their homes, to harass the enemy continually, and reduce their numbers as much as possible without bringing on a general engagement. As soon as the invaders, wearied with their long march and constant skirmishing, had entered the labyrinth of ravines through which lay their road to Tehuantepec, the brave defenders rushed down from their mountain forts, and in a series of bloody battles almost annihilated the invading force. The Aztecs could neither retreat nor advance, and day by day the leader saw his army melting away, by death and capture, prisoners being put to death by torture, except a few that were sent back to tell their comrades of the strength and ferocity of their foes. When the situation became known in Mexico, Ahuitzotl is said to have sent a second army larger than the first to relieve the blockaded force; and this re-inforcing movement was repeated three times within a year, but the Aztecs could not force the passage of Guiengola, or if allowed to pass could only comfort their brothers in arms by dying with them. The allied Aztec monarchs were at last fairly defeated, and sent an embassy with propositions of peace and alliance, professing great admiration for Cociyoeza's valor and genius.[IX-17]

Such is the version given by Burgoa. Nothing is known of the negotiations which ensued, but Brasseur deduces from subsequent events that by the terms of the treaty formed, the Zapotec king was to retain possession of Tehuantepec; Soconusco was to be given up to Mexico; free passage was to be accorded to Mexican travelers, and the fortress of Huaxyacac was to remain in the hands of the Aztecs. It is also stated by Burgoa that Cociyoeza was to marry a Mexican princess. These conditions would indicate that the condition of affairs was not after all so desperate for the Aztecs in the south as the preceding account implies. Nothing is said of the fate of the Miztec provinces according to the terms of the treaty;[IX-18] but we know that after the ratification of the alliance, the merchant garrison of Quauhtenanco was relieved from its state of siege, and with the aid of re-inforcements, conquered the whole adjoining province of Ayotlan on the South Sea, and then returned to their homes, where they were received with the highest honors at the hands of the monarchs and of the people, who greeted them with festivities, the details of which are given by Sahagun.[IX-19]

It seems not to have been stipulated which one of the Mexican princesses should be given to the Zapotec king; and a strange version is given of the manner in which this matter was settled. Cociyoeza was bathing one evening in one of the miniature lakes connected with his royal gardens. After he had removed his clothing, a beautiful female form appeared by his side in the moonlight, and announced herself as the sister of Montezuma of Mexico, who had heard of his valor, and had caused herself to be miraculously transported to his side by the magic arts of the Aztec enchanters. She assisted him in his bath, left with him the bathing utensils of her brother which she had brought, showed a peculiar mark on the palm of her hand, by which she might be identified, and disappeared as mysteriously as she had come. Cociyoeza had before looked forward to his marriage with some misgivings, but now, violently enamored with the charms of his nocturnal visitor, he made haste to send an embassy with the richest gifts his kingdom could afford to bring back his Aztec bride. A grand display was made in Mexico at the reception of this embassy, doubtless intended to impress upon its members an idea of Mexican power and wealth. The Zapotec nobles were brought into the presence of the assembled court beauties, and noticed that one princess had frequent occasion to arrange her tresses in such a manner as to show her palm and its peculiar mark. They were thus enabled at once to select the fair sister of Montezuma, Pelaxilla, or Cotton-Flake, who was borne in a litter on the shoulders of noblemen with great pomp to the court of Teotzapotlan the Zapotec capital, where a succession of brilliant fêtes were given in her honor; and soon after the nuptial ceremonies were performed at Tehuantepec amid great popular rejoicings.[IX-20]

It was, perhaps, not without hidden motives of future treachery that Ahuitzotl had insisted on a matrimonial alliance between the Aztecs and Zapotecs; at any rate, he is reported to have made an attempt some years later to assassinate Cociyoeza through the assistance of his wife. Ambassadors were sent to communicate with her on this matter, but Pelaxilla revealed the plot to her husband, who immediately sent back the embassy laden with gifts, and prepared his forts and his armies for war. The Aztecs, however, knowing that their plot was discovered, made no attack; they demanded permission to send troops through Zapotec territory for the conquest of Amaxtlan and Xuchiltepec, south of the isthmus, which was granted; but Cociyoeza, suspecting treachery, took the precaution to furnish a large army to attend the Aztecs through his territory, both coming and going, under pretense of furnishing an escort. Ahuitzotl's forces seem to have been successful, although no particulars are recorded.[IX-21]

The events related bring the history of the Aztec empire down to the year 1497, and about the same time the province of Zacatollan on the Pacific, south-west of Michoacan, was annexed to the domain of Tezcuco—a fact which does not seem to agree with any version of the terms of the tri-partite alliance—by the exploit of an Acolhuan officer named Teuhchimaltzin. It seems that some efforts had already been made by Nezahualpilli's orders for the conquest of this province, but without success, when Teuhchimaltzin, stimulated perhaps by the achievements of the Tlatelulca merchants at Quauhtenanco, obtained permission to enter the country disguised as a merchant, with a few companions, promising to subdue the province by taking the king, dead or alive. He was, however, soon recognized and captured, and the day was appointed for his sacrifice; but while the king Yopicatl Atonal with his nobles was drinking and dancing on the night before the sacrificial festivities, Teuhchimaltzin escaped from his prison, joined the dancers, and at last, when all were overcome with frequent libations, cut off the king's head and escaped with it to the frontier where an army seems to have been in waiting. When the nobles awoke and found what had taken place, they forthwith dispatched an embassy after the escaped prisoner, and for some reason that Ixtlilxochitl does not make very clear, offered to surrender the province to the Tezcucan monarch. Thus Zacatollan was added to Nezahualpilli's possessions, Teuhchimaltzin was honored as a hero, and an addition was made to the stock of tales by which sober Tezcucans were wont to illustrate the evils of intemperance.[IX-22]

In 1498 took place in Tezcuco the public execution of one of Nezahualpilli's wives. This monarch had a great many wives and concubines—more than two thousand, if we may believe Ixtlilxochitl, his descendant. Among the former were three nieces of Tizoc, one of them a daughter of Axayacatl, and a sister of Montezuma II., and very likely all three sisters, although there is great confusion on this point. Axayacatl's daughter was named Chalchiuhnenetzin; she was very young, and was assigned a secluded palace while awaiting the consummation of the marriage. She soon showed an extraordinary fondness for decorating her apartments with richly decked statues, the king noticing new ones at each visit; she said they were her gods, and her future husband was willing to humor her tastes, strange though they appeared. But one day he noticed a noble of the court wearing a ring that he had seen in the hands of Chalchiuhnenetzin, and the following night went to visit her. The maids in waiting said she had retired and was sleeping, but he insisted on seeing her, and found her couch occupied by a sort of puppet counterfeit of herself. His suspicions now fully roused, he ordered all the attendants arrested, pushed his search farther, and at last found his virgin bride dancing in very primitive costume with three noble lovers, one of whom was he who wore the tell-tale ring. Further investigation revealed that this Aztec Messalina had been in the habit of giving herself up to every young man that struck her fancy, and when weary of her lovers had caused them to be put to death, and represented in her apartments by the statues above referred to. After the parties had been tried and found guilty by the proper courts, the king sent to all the cities round about Anáhuac and summoned all the people to witness the punishment of his false wife. With her three surviving lovers and about two thousand persons who had in some way abetted the deception of the king, the amorous queen was publicly strangled. All acknowledged the justice of the act, but the Mexican royal family, it is said, never forgave the public execution of the sentence.[IX-23]

Nezahualpilli is said to have inherited all the good qualities of his father. Like Nezahualcoyotl he was a patron of the arts and sciences, but is reported to have given his chief attention to astrology, passing many nights in reading the stars from a lofty observatory erected for the purpose in the grounds of his palace. Sorcerers and magicians were always welcome at his court, whither they were often summoned both to advise the monarch on affairs of state and to impart to him a knowledge of their arts. Like his father he was famed for his inflexibility in the administration of justice and his kindness toward the poor and unfortunate. A small window in one part of his palace overlooked the market-place, and at this window the king was wont to sit frequently, watching the actions of the crowd below, noting cases of injustice for future punishment, and of distress and poverty that they might be relieved. How he condemned to death a judge for deciding unjustly against a poor man and in favor of a noble, and how he had his favorite son Huexotzincatzin executed for having publicly addressed his concubine, the lady of Tollan, has been related in a preceding volume.[IX-24] Many other anecdotes are told to illustrate the king's love of what he deemed justice. One of his sons began the construction of a palace somewhere in the Tezcucan domains without having either consulted his father or complied with the law requiring some brilliant deed in battle before a prince was entitled to a palace of his own. The guilty son was put to death. Members of the royal family seem to have had the greatest faith in the king's judgment and to have accepted his decisions without complaint. There was great rivalry between his two brothers Acapipioltzin and Xochiquetzal respecting the credit of a certain victory in the province of Cuextlan. Each had a band of partisans who were accustomed on public occasions to celebrate the deeds of their favorite by songs and dances. So far did the rivalry proceed that a resort to arms was imminent, when Nezahualpilli appeared on the scene on the occasion of some festivity and joining the dance on the side of his oldest brother Acapipioltzin, decided the dispute in his favor without complaint on the part of the younger brother. The condemnation of two men, a musician and a soldier, for adultery, was on one occasion brought to the king for his approval. He ordered the musician to be executed, but the soldier to be sent for life to do duty in the frontier garrisons, declaring that such thereafter should be a soldier's punishment for the fault in question. Nezahualpilli could also on occasion be most indulgent towards his children; for instance, his son Ixtlilxochitl early displayed an extraordinary fondness for having his own way. At the age of three years he expressed his emphatic disapproval of his nurse's views and conduct by pushing that lady into a deep well, and then amused himself by throwing stones upon her. When seven years old he raised a company of boy soldiers and skirmished about the city much to the terror of peaceful citizens. Hearing that two members of the royal council had advised his father to kill so unmanageable a child, he proceeded one night with a selected detachment of his juvenile veterans to the house of the counselors and assassinated them both. Nezahualpilli seems to have looked with much leniency upon these youthful irregularities of his son, who at fourteen distinguished himself in battle and at seventeen was a captain. We shall hear of him again in the last years of Aztec history. The king on another occasion demanded from a brother a very excellent teponaztli in his possession and his daughter for a royal concubine; on his refusal the teponaztli was taken by force, and his disobedient brother's house was razed as the property of a rebel. Two sons were strangled for having appropriated captives actually taken by their soldiers; a daughter for having spoken to the son of a lord; and two concubines for drinking pulque. A judge was hung for hearing a case in his own house instead of in the appointed hall of justice; and another for unduly prolonging a trial was condemned to have the front door of his residence walled up. This king is accredited with having abrogated the law which condemned the children of slaves to the condition of their parents, and with many other reforms calculated to ameliorate the condition of his people. The possession of supernatural powers was popularly attributed to him, and often in infancy he astonished his nurses by appearing before them in the form of a bird or beast.[IX-25]

In the years 1498 and 1499 it is recorded that Ahuitzotl attacked Atlixco without warning, and was defeated by the Huexotzincas who, under a famous general Tultecatl sent re-inforcements to aid the armies of Atlixco; and also that, by aiding Cholula in a quarrel with Tepeaca, the same king greatly increased his power on the eastern plateau. The following year Tultecatl, before whose valor the Aztecs had been forced to retreat, was driven from his own country in consequence of certain religious dissensions, and applied at one of the Mexican towns for protection. He was put to death, however, with all his companions, by Ahuitzotl's order, and the dead bodies were forwarded to Huexotzinco to show the rebellious inhabitants of that city with what relentless zeal the Aztec ruler pursued his foes.[IX-26]