r 
 
 F 1219 
 .R41413 
 1917 
 Copy 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kjtji 
 
 i\ 
 
 
 DOCUMENTS AND NARRATIVES 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST 
 or LATIN AMERICA 
 
 H 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE CORTES SOCIETY 
 
 NEW YO 
 
Class 
 Book_ 
 
DOCUMENTS AND NARRATIVES 
 
 CONCERNING THE 
 
 DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST 
 OF LATIN AMERICA 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE CORTES SOCIETY 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 NUMBER ONE 
 
Edition limited to S50 copies 
 of which ten are on Kelmscott paper 
 
 This copy is Number 
 
 J fTDpo 
 0.i 
 
NARRATIVE OF SOME THINGS 
 
 ' OF 
 
 NEW SPAIN 
 
 AND OF THE GREAT CITY OF 
 
 TEMESTITAN MEXICO 
 
 WRITTEN BY 
 
 THE ANONYMOUS CONQUEROR 
 
 A COMPANION OF 
 HEBNAN CORTES 
 
 TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH AND ANNOTATED 
 BY 
 
 MARSHALL H. SAVILLE 
 
 THE CORTES SOCIETY 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 1917 
 

 COCKAYNE, BOSTON 
 
 / I 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAFIBB PAOK 
 
 Introduction 7 
 
 I. The Land of New Spain 15 
 
 n. Of the Animals 17 
 
 III. Of the Soldiers 19 
 
 rV. Or their Offensive and Defensive Arms 21 
 
 V. Dress of the Men 29 
 
 VI. Dress of the Women SI 
 
 VH. Of the Thread which they Work . . 33 
 
 Vin. Of the Foods which they have and use 35 
 
 IX. Of the Drinks that they use .... 39 
 
 X. How they make Cacao 41 
 
 XI. Of other kinds of Wine which they have 43 
 
 Xn. Of the order of Government .... 45 
 
 Xin. Of their Religion, Worship and Temples 47 
 
 XIV. What these Towers were like .... 49 
 
 XV. Of the Sacrifices 51 
 
 XVI. Of the Cities of this Land and Descrip- 
 tion of some of Them 55 
 
 XVII. The Lake of Mexico 57 
 
 XVm. Op the great City of Temistitan, 
 
 Mexico 61 
 
 XIX. Or THE Streets 63 
 
 5 
 
6 . CONTENTS 
 
 XX. Of the Plazas and Mabkut-Places . . 65 
 XXI. Of the Temples and Mosques that it 
 
 HELD 69 
 
 XXII. Of THE Habitations 73 
 
 XXIII. Maeriagb 77 
 
 XXIV. Of THE BuBiALs 79 
 
 NOTES 83 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 During the year 1917 occurs the four 
 hundredth anniversary of the discovery of 
 Mexico. Early in February, 1517, Diego Ve- 
 lasquez, Governor of Cuba, sent out three 
 vessels under the command of Hernandez 
 de Cordova to explore the waters to the 
 westward of that island. As pilot of the 
 expedition went Anton Alaminos, who as a 
 youth had accompanied Columbus in 1503 
 on his fourth voyage of discovery. On this 
 trip Columbus set sail from Santo Domingo, 
 and made the mainland of Central America, 
 along the Honduras coast. While tarrying 
 here for a few days, a great trading canoe 
 arrived from the north laden with people 
 and merchandise, giving Columbus tangi- 
 ble evidence of the existence of a people 
 having a higher culture than that found in 
 the Antilles. This canoe had come from 
 the province of Yucatan, and if Columbus 
 
8 Introduction 
 
 had but turned his eyes in this direction, to 
 him would have fallen the glory of the dis- 
 covery of Mexico. Instead, however, he 
 pushed on with his fleet to the east and 
 southeast, against adverse currents and con- 
 trary winds, and finally reached Panama. 
 Cordova was undoubtedly influenced by the 
 pilot Alaminos to steer in the direction of 
 the region to which Columbus had turned his 
 back, and on February 8, 1517, he sighted the 
 island of Cozumel, close to the Yucatan coast. 
 One of the chief sources of information 
 regarding this eventful voyage is furnished 
 us by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who was not 
 only on this expedition, but went in 1518, 
 with Gri jaiva, when he was placed in charge 
 of an expedition to continue the discovery 
 of the Mexican coast, which had been skirted 
 by Cordova as far as what is now the city 
 of Vera Cruz. Again in 1519, Bernal Diaz was 
 a member of the larger expedition com- 
 manded by Hernán Cortes, under whose 
 intrepid leadership the discovery and con- 
 quest of the so-called empire of Monte- 
 
Introduction 9 
 
 zuma, Mexico, was added to the laurels of 
 the Spanish crown. The complete work of 
 Bernal Diaz relating to these memorable 
 expeditions has only recently been published, 
 and a masterly translation into English with 
 scholarly annotations by Alfred P. Mauds- 
 ley, has just been printed by the Hakluyt 
 Society in five volumes, the final volume 
 having been issued in 1916. 
 
 In the work of Bernal Diaz we have the 
 written account of but one of four eye- 
 witnesses of the Conquest of Mexico. Fore- 
 most in importance are the five letters of the 
 conqueror himself, Hernán Cortes. These 
 were sent to the King of Spain, Charles the 
 Fifth, and the second, third, and fourth were 
 soon printed. The first letter sent from the 
 coast of Mexico has been lost, but the in- 
 formation contained in it has been supplied 
 by a letter, apparently containing the same 
 information, sent at the same time to the 
 King, by the just established Municipality 
 of the new town of Vera Cruz. The fifth 
 letter related to an overland journey made 
 
10 Introduction 
 
 by Cortes from the city of Mexico to Hon- 
 duras during the years 1526-1527. This 
 letter and the letter of the Municipality, 
 were only found and published during the 
 past century. These five letters have been 
 translated into different languages and pub- 
 lished many times, but not until 1908 was 
 an adequate translation in English of all 
 five published collectively, when Francis A. 
 MacNutt issued them with annotations in a 
 two-volume edition. 
 
 The accounts of the two other eyewitnesses 
 and participants, in the conquest of Mexico, 
 the Anonymous Conqueror and Andres de 
 Tapia, have never been published in English, 
 and it seems fitting at this time, the four 
 hundredth anniversary of the discovery of 
 Mexico, to undertake the publication of 
 translations of these two documents to sup- 
 plement the letters of Cortes and the history 
 of Bernal Diaz. 
 
 The narratives will be published separately, 
 and in the series the Itinerary of Grijalva 
 and other accounts, relating not only to the 
 
Introduction 11 
 
 discovery and conquest of Mexico, but also 
 of Peru and other Latin-American countries, 
 will be included, giving only such documents 
 and narratives as have not been heretofore 
 published in the English language. 
 
 The valuable document relating to the 
 conquest of Mexico by the Anonymous Con- 
 queror, which is here published in English 
 for the first time, has come down to us from 
 the celebrated collection of voyages and 
 travels brought together in Italy, and pub- 
 lished in the Italian language by Ramusio. 
 This great collection has not been reprinted 
 in recent times like the great works of Hak- 
 luyt and Purchas, and it has never in its 
 entirety been translated into English. 
 
 The following notes relating to the differ- 
 ent editions of the work of Ramusio are taken 
 from the learned introductory treatise of 
 the great Mexican scholar Joaquin Garcia 
 Icazbalceta, to his translation from the Italian 
 into Spanish of the document which we have 
 now rendered in English from his Spanish 
 translation, and compared with the original 
 
12 Introduction 
 
 Italian text published by Ramusio. The 
 Spanish translation of this report was pub- 
 lished by Icazbalceta in his "Colección de 
 Documentos Para La Historia de Mexico," 
 volume I, Mexico, 1858. 
 
 Volume I of Ramusio was first printed in 
 1550, and was reprinted 1554, 1563, 1588, 
 1606, and 1613. The second volume did 
 not appear until 1559, when Ramusio was 
 already dead. It was reprinted in 1574, 
 1583, and 1606. The third volume was ex- 
 clusively devoted to America, and in it is 
 found the report of the Anonymous Con- 
 queror. It was first published in 1556, and 
 was reprinted in 1565 and 1606. Ramusio 
 had brought together material for a fourth 
 volume, and it had already been delivered to 
 the printer, but the establishment was burned 
 in 1557, and with it the manuscript, a few 
 months after the death of Ramusio. The 
 loss of this material is to be lamented, as it 
 probably contained further documents re- 
 lating to America. 
 
 The original Spanish text of the report of 
 
Introduction 13 
 
 the Anonymous Conqueror is lost; at least 
 its present whereabouts has not yet come to 
 light, and we have to rely upon the Italian 
 text. Much speculation has arisen as to 
 the identity of the writer, and it has been 
 held by some to be the work of Francisco de 
 Terrazas. The evidence has been studied 
 carefully by Icazbalceta, the result being 
 that we are still at a loss as to the author- 
 ship of this valuable document. In the pub- 
 lication of Ramusio it is simply ascribed to 
 a "Gentleman of Cortes." It is a matter 
 of deep regret that the author did not write 
 a more extensive account, or if he did, that 
 it should have been lost, for as Icazbalceta 
 remarks, *'it is without doubt one of our 
 best historical documents." 
 
 There is a translation into French of the 
 Anonymous Conqueror by Ternaux Compans, 
 published by him in his "Recueil de Pieces 
 relatives a la Conquete du Mexique," Tome 
 X, of "Voyages, Relations et Mémoires 
 Originaux pour servir a I'Histoire de la 
 Découverte de TAmérique," 1837-1841. 
 
14 Introduction 
 
 The two illustrations found accompanying 
 the report in the Spanish translation of 
 Icazbalceta are reproduced by him from the 
 text of the edition of Ramusio of 1556, with 
 the remarks that "the drawings are pure 
 caprice, and that of the temple has acquired 
 a certain celebrity that it does not merit." 
 
Narrative of Some Things of New Spain and 
 of the Great City of Temestitan,^ Mexico, 
 Written by a Companion of Hernán Cortes, 
 The Anonymous Conqueror. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE LAND OF NEW SPAIN 
 
 The land of New Spain is similar to Spain, 
 and the hills, valleys, and plains are nearly 
 of the same manner, except that the moun- 
 tains are more terrible and rugged, in so 
 much so that no one can climb them without 
 infinite labor, and there is a mountain range, 
 which so far as one knows, extends for more 
 than two hundred leagues. There are in 
 this province of New Spain great rivers and 
 springs of very good sweet water, extensive 
 woods on the hills and plains of very high 
 pines, cedars, oaks, and cypresses, besides 
 live oaks and a great variety of mountain 
 trees. In the interior of the province there 
 are very pleasant slopes, and near the coast 
 there are mountains that run from sea to sea. 
 
 15 
 
16 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 The distance from one sea to the other is, 
 for the least part, one hundred and fifty 
 leagues, in another one hundred and seventy, 
 in another it exceeds two hundred, and in 
 another it is about five hundred, and higher 
 up 2 the distance is so great that no one 
 knows the number of leagues, because the 
 Spaniards have not seen it, nor will finish 
 exploring it from now on to a hundred years, 
 and every day new lands are discovered. 
 
 In this province are found mines of gold, 
 silver, copper, tin, steel, and iron.^ There 
 are many kinds of fruits similar to those of 
 Spain in appearance, although to taste them 
 they have neither the same perfection of 
 flavor nor of color. It is quite true that 
 many are excellent, and as good as those of 
 Spain could be, but this is not generally the 
 case. The fields are most agreeable, and full 
 of a most beautiful herbage that grows to the 
 [height of the] middle of the leg. The soil 
 is very fertile and abundant, producing every- 
 thing sown in it, and in many places gives 
 two or even three crops to the year. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 OF THE ANIMALS 
 
 There are many animals of different kinds, 
 as tigers, lions, and wolves, and likewise 
 jackals,^ which are between a fox and a dog, 
 and others between lion and wolf. The tigers 
 are of the same size as the lions, or perhaps 
 a little larger, except that they are more 
 robust and ferocious; they have the whole 
 body full of white spots, and none of these 
 animals harms the Spaniards, but to the 
 people of the country they show no tender- 
 ness, but on the contrary eat them. There 
 are also deer, and wild foxes, fallow deer, 
 hares, and rabbits. The pigs ^ have the 
 navel in the spine, and there are many other 
 and divers animals, particularly one rather 
 larger than a tom-cat, which has a purse 
 [pouch] in its belly in which it hides its young 
 when it wants to flee with them, because they 
 never leave her, and there she carries them 
 
 17 
 
18 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 unseen and unknown, and when it flees, 
 climbs with them into trees. ^ 
 
 This province of New Spain is for the 
 greater part thickly peopled. There are 
 great cities and towns, as many on the plains 
 as in the mountains. The houses are of 
 rough stones and mortar, and of earth and 
 adobe, and all have flat roofs. ^ This refers 
 to the habitations of those who dwell in the 
 interior, but those who live near the sea have 
 the walls of their houses of adobes, earth, 
 and boards, with thatched roofs. The na- 
 tives of this land have for a long time had the 
 most beautiful mesquites [mosques] ^ with 
 great towers and living quarters in which 
 they worshipped their idols and sacrificed 
 to them. Many of their cities are better 
 laid out than those here [of Spain,] with 
 very handsome streets and squares where 
 they have their markets. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 OF THE SOLDIERS 
 
 The people of this land are well made, 
 rather tall than short. They are swarthy 
 as leopards, of good manners and gestures, 
 for the greater part very skillful, robust, and 
 tireless, and at the same time the most 
 moderate men known. They are very war- 
 like and face death with the greatest resolu- 
 tion. For a long time they have had great 
 wars and differences amongst themselves, 
 and all their prisoners of war they either eat 
 or enslave. When they besieged a town and 
 the people surrendered Avithout resistance 
 they were held as vassals by the conquerors, 
 but if they had to use force they were re- 
 duced to slavery. They kept a certain dis- 
 cipline in their wars, for they have their 
 captain-generals, and their captains of four 
 hundred men, and other captains of two 
 hundred.^ Each company has its ensign, 
 who carries the banner ^^ attached to his 
 
 19 
 
20 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 back on its staff in such a way that it does 
 not hinder him from fighting, nor interfere 
 with anything he wishes to do; and he car- 
 ries it so well attached to his body, that un- 
 less he is cut to pieces it cannot be untied nor 
 taken away by any means. It is their regular 
 custom to give good pay and rewards to those 
 who serve with valor in the wars, signaliz- 
 ing themselves by some heroic feat of arms, 
 and if one such were among the vilest slaves, 
 they would make him a captain and Lord, 
 and give him vassals, and hold him in such 
 esteem that wherever he goes they pay him 
 the same respect and reverence that they 
 give to their own Lord. He who has so 
 distinguished himself is marked by a special 
 manner of wearing the hair, so that he may 
 be known as a man who has done some great 
 action by everybody at the first glance, for 
 it is not their custom to wear any covering 
 on the head. Every time that he performs 
 some notable action, he is marked in some 
 other similar way, and the great Lords always 
 make him presents." 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 OF THEIR OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE ARMS 
 
 The armor which they use in war are cer- 
 tain loose garments Hke doublets made of 
 quilted cotton, a finger and a half thick, and 
 sometimes two fingers; they are very strong.^^ 
 Over them they wear a doublet and hose all 
 one garment, which are corded behind. This 
 garment is made of thick cloth and is covered 
 with a layer of feathers of different colors, 
 making a fine effect. Some companies of 
 soldiers wear white and crimson, others blue 
 and yellow, and others again of different 
 styles. The Lords wear over everything gar- 
 ments like short jackets, which with us are 
 of chain mail, but theirs are of gold and 
 silver gilt. These feather garments are in 
 proportion to their weapons, for neither arrows 
 nor darts pierce them, but are thrown back 
 without making any wound, and even with 
 
 21 
 
22 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 swords it is difficult to penetrate througii 
 them. To guard the head they carry things 
 like the heads of serpents, tigers, lions, or 
 wolves, with open jaws, and the head of the 
 man is inside the head of the creature as if 
 it was being devoured. They are of wood 
 covered over with feathers and with jewels 
 of gold and precious stones, which is a won- 
 derful sight. 1^ They use shields of various 
 kinds, made of good thick reeds which grow 
 in that country, interwoven with cotton of 
 double thickness, and they cover them with 
 precious stones and round plates of gold, 
 which makes them so strong that nothing 
 can go through, unless from a good cross- 
 bow. Some arrows it is true pierced them, 
 but could do them no harm. And because 
 some of these shields have been seen in 
 Spain I say they are not of the kind borne in 
 war, but only those used in the festivals 
 and dances which they are accustomed to 
 have.^^ 
 
 Their weapons of ojffense are bows and 
 arrows, and darts which they throw with a 
 
0;ffensive and Defensive Arms 23 
 
 machine made of another stick. ^^ The tips 
 at the end are of edged stones, or of a strong, 
 sharp fish-bone. Some darts have three tips,^^ 
 making three wounds at a throw, for on 
 one stick they insert three very slender and 
 sharp tips. They have swords of this kind, 
 — of wood made Hke a two-handed sword, 
 but with the hilt not so long; about three 
 fingers in breadth. The edges are grooved, 
 and in the grooves they insert stone knives, 
 that cut like a Toledo knife. ^^ I saw one 
 day an Indian fighting with a mounted man, 
 and the Indian gave the horse of his antag- 
 onist such a blow in the breast that he 
 opened it to the entrails, and it fell dead on 
 the spot. And the same day I saw another 
 Indian give another horse a blow in the neck, 
 that stretched it dead at his feet. They use 
 slings which carry very far, and ordinarily 
 carry all these weapons. It is one of the 
 finest things in the world to see them in war 
 in their squadrons, because they move with 
 perfect order, and are splendidly attired, 
 and make such a fine appearance that noth- 
 
24 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 ing could be better. Among them are very 
 resolute men who affront death with deter- 
 mination. I saw one of them defending 
 himself most valiantly against two light-horse- 
 men, and another against three or four. The 
 Spaniards seeing that they could not kill 
 him, one of them lost patience, and darted 
 his lance at him, but the Indian, before it 
 reached him, caught it in the air, and with 
 it fought for more than an hour until two 
 foot-soldiers arrived ^* who wounded him 
 with one or two successful arrows. One of 
 them got in front of him, and the other 
 grabbed him from behind and stabbed him. 
 While they are fighting they sing and dance, 
 and from time to time utter the most fright- 
 ful whoopings and whistlings in the world, 
 especially when they see that they are gain- 
 ing the advantage, and it is a certain fact 
 that, to any one who had never seen them 
 fight before, their yells and manly appear- 
 ance would be intimidating. In war they 
 are the most cruel people possible, because 
 they give quarter to no one, neither brother, 
 
Offensive and Defensive Arms 25 
 
 nor relation, nor friend, nor do they allow 
 any prisoners to live, except young and pretty 
 women, killing and eating all others. When 
 they are not able to carry away their booty 
 and the spoils of the enemy they burn it all. 
 They are not permitted to kill Lords,^® but 
 they made them their prisoners, and carried 
 them off well guarded. Soon afterwards they 
 prepared a festival, in anticipation of which 
 there are in the middle of the squares of the 
 cities certain massive platforms of masonry, 
 about half as high again as a man. One 
 mounts these by steps, and on the top is a 
 place as round as a quoit, and in the middle 
 of this place is fixed a round stone, having 
 a hole in the center. ^^ The Lord prisoner 
 mounted, and was tied to the stone by the 
 narrow part of the foot with a long thin cord. 
 They gave him one of their swords and a 
 buckler, and soon the same man who took 
 him prisoner came to fight with him. If he 
 again succeeded in the combat he was es- 
 teemed a most valiant man, and was given 
 some insignia of feats of arms, and the Lord 
 
26 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 in whose service he was gave him other re- 
 wards. But if the prisoner conquered him 
 and six others, making in all seven vanquished, 
 he was restored to liberty, and every one who 
 had taken anything from him was compelled 
 to restore it. It happened that the men of 
 the dominion of Huecicingo [Huexotzinco] 
 were fighting with the men of Tula, and the 
 Lord of the latter city put himself so far for- 
 ward that he could not join his companions, 
 and although he did marvelous feats of arms, 
 his antagonists so charged upon him that 
 they took him and carried him to their city. 
 There they arranged for the customary holi- 
 days, making him mount to the stone, and 
 there came to fight him seven of the ablest 
 warriors, whom he killed one after the other, 
 he being fastened to the stone according to 
 usage. Those of Huecicingo seeing this be- 
 thought them that if they unloosed a man 
 so valiant and robust he would not stop 
 until he had made an end of them; there- 
 fore they resolved to kill him and did so, 
 which act brought upon them the reputa- 
 
Offensive and Defensive Arms 27 
 
 tion of being infamous throughout all that 
 country, for they had broken against that 
 Lord the law and general custom, not keeping 
 it with him as with all other Lords.^^ 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 DRESS OF THE MEN 
 
 The dress of this people consisted of several 
 mantles of cotton-like sheets, although not 
 so large, worked with bright patterns and 
 with fringes or borders. Each of the men 
 has two or three of these mantles, and they 
 are worn by tying the ends over the chest. 
 In winter they cover themselves with a kind 
 of shepherd's coat made of a very fine feather 
 that has the appearance of silk ^2 or like our 
 felt hats, and they are deep red, black, white, 
 gray, and yellow. They cover their loins 
 front and back with very beautiful towels 
 which are like large handkerchiefs such as 
 we use on the head when traveling; they 
 are of various colors and adorned in different 
 ways with tassels which are placed so that 
 one falls in front and the other behind. 
 They use shoes with only a sole and no upper 
 part, and with the heel piece very much 
 
 29 
 
so The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 adorned. From between the toes come out 
 wide thongs which they secure to the instep 
 of the foot with buttons. On the head 
 they do not wear anything except when they 
 go to war or in these festivals and dances. 
 They have their hair long and tied in various 
 styles. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 DRESS OF THE WOMEN 
 
 The women use chemises of cotton with 
 sleeves hke surpHces, long and wide, filled 
 with beautiful work with fringes and trim- 
 mings which make a fine appearance. They 
 put on two, three, or four of these chemises, 
 all different, some longer than others so that 
 below they appear like a petticoat. They 
 use also, from the waist down, another kind 
 of garment of pure cotton which goes as 
 far as the ankles, also very splendid and well 
 worked. They wear nothing on the head, 
 not even in the cold countries, but they 
 allow the hair to grow long, which is very 
 beautiful, although generally black or ap- 
 proaching chestnut color, so that with this 
 costume and the long and loose locks which 
 cover the back they look beautiful. In the 
 hot countries near the sea they use veils 
 over the head, of a tawny color, j-esembling 
 the Spanish redecillas. 
 
 31 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 OF THE THREAD WHICH THEY WORK 
 
 The silk thread with which they work 
 they take from the belly of hares and rab- 
 bits, and they dye it the color desired in 
 the matted state. These tints are made 
 with such perfection that one could not ask 
 for better. Afterwards it is spun and with 
 this thread they do beautiful work, almost as 
 fine as our silk. Although they wash it the 
 color is never lost and the cloth lasts a long 
 time. 2' 
 
 33 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 OF THE FOODS WHICH THEY HAVE AND USE 
 
 The grain with which they make their 
 bread is a kind of pea, and there is white, 
 crimson, black, and reddish. Planted, it pro- 
 duces a high cane like a half pike, which gives 
 two or three ears where the grain is, as in 
 Panizo or Panic grass. In order to make 
 bread they take a great olla which they fill 
 with four or five pitchers full of water, and 
 they put fire beneath it until the water boils. 
 Then they take away the fire, and the grain 
 they call Tayul,^* and over it they add a 
 little lime in order to loosen the thin skin 
 which covers it. In two or three hours 
 when it has become cold they wash it well 
 in the river or in the houses with many 
 waters, so that it comes to be perfectly clean 
 of all the lime, and then they mash it on some 
 stones made for this purpose. When it has 
 been mashed they put water with it and 
 
 35 
 
36 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 make a paste, and so grinding it and mashing 
 it at the same time, they make the bread. 
 They put it to cook in large earthen baking 
 pans a Httle larger than a sieve, and as they 
 cook the bread they eat it, because it is much 
 better hot than cold. They have another 
 method of preparing, which is to make some 
 balls of this mass which they cover with 
 leaves and put it in a great pot with a little 
 water, and cover it well so that with the 
 heat and with keeping them covered they 
 are cooked. They also cook it in fritters 
 [tamales] with other things which they are 
 accustomed to eat. They raise many great 
 hens like peacocks, very good to eat. There 
 are a great number of quail of four or five 
 species and some of these are like partridges. 
 They have also ducks and drakes of many 
 classes, domestic and wild, from whose plumes 
 they make their garments for wars and fes- 
 tival; they use these feathers for many things 
 because they are of various colors, and every 
 year they take them from the birds. There 
 are also great and little parrots which they 
 
The Foods They Use 37 
 
 have in their houses and whose plumes also 
 are used. They kill for eating a great num- 
 ber of stags and roes, hares and rabbits, 
 which are found in great quantities in these 
 parts. They cultivate a great diversity of 
 plants and garden truck of which they are 
 very fond, and these they eat raw as well 
 as in various cooked dishes. They have one 
 — like a pepper — as a condiment which they 
 call chile and they never eat anything with- 
 out it. These people live with very little 
 food, as little perhaps as any other people 
 in the world. Only the Lords have a great 
 variety of viands, sauces and vegetable soups, 
 pies and pastries of all the animals which 
 they have, fruits, vegetables, and fish, which 
 are in abundance. They use all of these 
 things, and they are served in plates and 
 soup plates upon mats of palm leaf very 
 beautifully worked which are in all of their 
 houses, as also seats in which they sit, made 
 in various manners but all low, which do not 
 raise them above the ground more than a 
 palm or six inches. The food is brought to 
 
38 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 the Lords with a towel of cotton so that they 
 may wipe the hands and the mouth. They 
 are served by two or three chief waiters and 
 the Lords eat all they wish; and then what 
 is left over is divided among other Lords, 
 their vassals, who are there in order to make 
 their court to them. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 OF THE DRINKS THAT THEY USE 
 
 They make various classes of wine, but 
 the beverage which is the most excellent 
 and which they use principally is one which 
 they call Cachanatle [chocolate]. They make 
 it of certain seeds produced by a tree whose 
 fruit is after the manner of a cucumber, and 
 inside are some thick grains like date stones. 
 The tree that produces this fruit is the most 
 delicate of all, and does not grow except in 
 hot lands and strong soils; before they sow 
 it they plant two other trees of thick foliage, 
 and when these approach the height of two 
 men they plant between them this one which 
 produces the said fruit, so that the others, 
 because of its delicate nature, may defend 
 it and keep from it the winds and the sun 
 and cover it. These trees are held in great 
 esteem because the said grains are the prin- 
 cipal money that passes in the land and each 
 
40 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 one is of the value of half a marchetto of our 
 money.2^ Inconvenient as this money must 
 be, it comes after gold and silver and is the 
 one most used by every one in this land. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 HOW THEY MAKE THE CACAO 
 
 These seeds which are called almonds or 
 cacao they pound and reduce to powder, 
 and also grind other small seeds and put the 
 powder in certain jars with spouts. Directly 
 they add water and stir with a spoon, and 
 after it has been well beaten they pass it 
 from one vase to another, which froths it, 
 and this froth they collect in another jar 
 kept for the purpose. When they wish to 
 drink it, they froth it with little spoons of 
 gold or silver or of wood, and it is then drunk, 
 but they have to open the mouth wide be- 
 cause it is froth, and must have room for 
 liquefying little by little. This is the most 
 healthful and most nutritious aliment of all 
 known to the world, for one who takes a cup 
 of it, though he may make a long journey, 
 can pass all day without taking another 
 thing, and being cold of its nature, it is bet- 
 ter in hot weather than in cold. 
 
 41 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 OF OTHER KINDS OF WINE WHICH THEY HAVE 
 
 They have a kind of tree, or rather a plant 
 something between a bush and a thistle, 
 whose leaves are as thick as the leg of a man 
 just above the knee, and about as long as 
 the arm, more or less, according to its age. 
 It throws up a stem in the middle which 
 grows to twice or three times the height of 
 a man approximately, and the thickness of 
 a six-year-old boy. When the time arrives 
 and the plant is ripe, they bore a hole at the 
 foot whence a liquor distils which they keep 
 in vessels of the bark of a tree, made expressly 
 for that purpose. One or two days after- 
 wards they drink it till they fall down from 
 pure drunkenness, and to drink of it exces- 
 sively and to get intoxicated they consider 
 highly honorable. This tree is most useful, 
 for they get from it wine, vinegar, honey, and 
 arrope. 2 8 They make of it cloth for men 
 
 43 
 
44 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 and women, shoes,^^ cordage, beams for 
 houses, and shingles for covering them. The 
 ends of the leaves are very hard and pointed, 
 and they are used as needles for sewing, and 
 for making stitches in sword cuts, and other 
 matters. The leaves of this bush or thistle 
 are to them what our vines are to us, and 
 they call the plant maguey. They make 
 still another drink of it, but out of the leaves. 
 These they steep until they can remove the 
 thick cuticle; then they pound the fleshy 
 substance with a wooden tool made for the 
 purpose, and cook this pulp in underground 
 ovens. ^^ This makes a wine which they 
 drink to drunkenness. Another is called 
 Chicha, and this is made from the grain which 
 they eat,29 and is of different kinds, red and 
 white. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 OF THE ORDER OF THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 These people have a Grand Lord who is 
 like an emperor, and they moreover had 
 and have others like kings, dukes, counts, 
 governors, gentlemen ^° shield-bearers and 
 men-at-arms. The Lords appointed the gov- 
 ernors of the provinces, the administrators, 
 and other oflScials. These Lords are so dreaded 
 and obeyed that they are adored like gods. 
 There was such justice among them that for 
 the least crime or dereliction that any one 
 committed, he was put to death or reduced 
 to slavery. Theft and murder were severely 
 punished, and above all the entrance into 
 another man's land, in order to steal fruits 
 or grain. If any one entered a field and 
 stole three or four ears of maize he became 
 the slave of the owner of the field. If any 
 one was guilty of treason or any other crime 
 against the emperor or king he was con- 
 demned to death with all his relatives unto 
 the fourth generation. 
 
 45 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 OF THEIR RELIGION, WORSHIP, AND TEMPLES 
 
 They have very large and beautiful edi- 
 fices for their idols, where they prayed, 
 offering sacrifices and giving worship. They 
 have priests destined for service of the 
 temples, the same as our bishops, canons, 
 and other dignitaries who serve in them and 
 there live and reside ordinarily; for these 
 temples have fine spacious habitations where 
 all the sons of the Lords are brought up to 
 serve the idols, until they reach the age of 
 marriage. In the meantime they remained 
 in the temple and never left it, nor cut their 
 hair until after leaving it and entering into 
 the marriage state. These mosques or tem- 
 ples had their rents assigned for the neces- 
 saries and the maintenance of the priests 
 who served in them. The idols they wor- 
 shipped were figures of the size of a man or 
 even larger, made of paste composed of all 
 
 47 
 
48 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 the seeds they know and eat, made with 
 blood from human hearts. Of such material 
 were their idols. They were seated in chairs 
 similar to those of professors in universi- 
 ties, with a sword in one hand and buckler 
 in the other, and the places where they were 
 were towers ^^ of the following style ¡^^ 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 WHAT THESE TOWERS WERE LIKE 
 
 They make a tower, square, of one hun- 
 dred and fifty paces, more or less, long, and 
 one hundred and fifteen to one hundred and 
 twenty wide. They begin this edifice in a 
 solid mass and, arriving at a height of two 
 men, they leave on three sides a passage 
 about two paces and for one of the long sides 
 they make a stairway until they return to 
 the height of two bodies of a man; and- the 
 construction continues all solid of lime and 
 mortar. Here for the three sides they leave 
 a passage of the two paces and for the other 
 they go putting up the stairway; and in 
 this manner it rises so that the steps reach 
 to be one hundred and twenty or one hun- 
 dred and thirty. They leave on top a little 
 square and in the middle they begin other 
 two towers which reach to the height of ten 
 or twelve bodies with their windows above. 
 
 49 
 
50 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 In these high towers are the idols well ar- 
 ranged and well kept, and also all of the place 
 well decorated. Where they keep the prin- 
 cipal god no one is permitted to enter, only 
 the high priest, and this principal god has the 
 distinct name according to the province; 
 because in the great City of Mexico he is 
 called Horchilobos [Huitzilopochtli] and in 
 another city which they call Chuennila 
 [Cholula] Quecadquaal |]Quetzalcoatl] and 
 also in the others. They always celebrate 
 the festivals of their idols sacrificing many 
 men and women, boys and girls, and when 
 they feel the need of some necessity such as 
 rain, or excess of rain, or when they see 
 danger from their enemy, or suffer from 
 some other calamity, then they make these 
 sacrifices in the following manner. [See plate] 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 OF THE SACRIFICES 
 
 They take him who has to be sacrificed, 
 and first they carry him through the streets 
 and squares, very finely adorned, with great 
 festivities and rejoicing. Many a one re- 
 counts to him his needs, saying that since he 
 is going where his God is, he can tell him so 
 that he may remedy them. Then he gives 
 him refreshments and other things. In this 
 manner he receives many gifts, as is the 
 case when some one has killed a woK, and 
 carries the head through the streets. And all 
 the gifts go to those who offer the sacri- 
 fice. They lead him to the temple, where 
 they dance and carry on joyously, and the 
 man about to be sacrificed dances and car- 
 ries on like the rest. At length the man who 
 offers the sacrifice strips him naked, and 
 leads him at once to the stairway of the tower 
 where is the stone idol. Here they stretch 
 
 51 
 
52 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 him on his back, tying the hands to the 
 sides and fastening the legs. Then all com- 
 mence to sing and dance around him, chant- 
 ing the principal message which he is to 
 bear to the God. Soon comes the sacrificing 
 priest — and this is no small office among 
 them — armed with a stone knife, which cuts 
 like steel, and is as big as one of our large 
 knives. He plunges the knife into the breast, 
 opens it, and tears out the heart hot and 
 palpitating. And this as quickly as one 
 might cross himself. At this point the chief 
 priest of the temple takes it, and anoints 
 the mouth of the principal idol with the 
 blood; then filling his hand with it he flings 
 it towards the sun, or towards some star, if 
 it be night. Then he anoints the mouths 
 of all the other idols of wood and stone, and 
 sprinkles blood on the cornice of the chapel 
 of the principal idol. Afterwards they burn 
 the heart, preserving the ashes as a great 
 relic, and likewise they burn the body of the 
 sacrifice, but these ashes are kept apart 
 from those of the heart in a different vase. 
 
0/ the Sacrifices 53 
 
 At other times they sacrifice human beings 
 according to some slow ritual lasting hours,^^ 
 roasting the heart, and wrapping the bones 
 of the legs or of the arms in many folds of 
 their paper, and keeping them as valuable 
 relics. But the inhabitants of each province 
 have their own method of sacrifice and idola- 
 try according to their particular deities, 
 the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, Serpents, 
 Lions, or other wild animals. They have 
 figures and statues of these in mosques, 
 and in other provinces, particularly that of 
 Panuco, they adore indecent objects in their 
 mosques,^^ and openly they have them dis- 
 played in sculptures in their squares, in reliefs 
 of the most filthy character (representing 
 the different methods of embracement of 
 a woman by a man).^" In this province of 
 Panuco the men are great sodomites, cowards, 
 and drunkards; it is almost incredible the 
 length to which they carry their passion for 
 intoxicating fluids (when they can no longer 
 stand and drink, they lie down and have it 
 injected by a squirt into their breech) .^^ It is 
 
54 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 notorious that in the figures of their idols 
 they had in view the devil who enters into 
 those idols, and spoke to them, ordering 
 them to sacrifice, and to give human hearts, 
 because they did not eat other things. From 
 this cause came their earnest desire to sacri- 
 fice men to them, and to offer them hearts 
 and blood. And also the demon ordered 
 them to do many other things which they 
 did punctually, in conformity with what 
 he told them. These people of all whom 
 God has created are the most devoted to their 
 religion, and observant of it; in so much so 
 that they offered themselves as voluntary 
 sacrifices for the salvation of their souls; 
 also drawing blood from their tongues, their 
 ears, their legs, and their arms to offer it in 
 sacrifice to their idols. There are in the en- 
 virons and along the roads many hermi- 
 tages, or oratories, where travelers go to 
 shed their blood and offer it to their idols. 
 Even on the tops of the highest mountains 
 their oratories existed and were held in peculiar 
 veneration. ^^ 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 OF THE CITIES OF THIS LAND AND DESCRIP- 
 TION OF SOME OF THEM 
 
 There are great cities here, especially 
 Táscala [Tlaxcala], which in some things 
 resembles Granada, but in others Segovia, 
 although its population is greater than that 
 of either. This Seignory [republic] is gov- 
 erned by various Lords [four], although 
 under certain circumstances they recognize 
 one as the principal, and he was captain- 
 general of the wars. It is a goodly land of 
 plain and mountain, very populous, and 
 produces much grain. Six leagues distant 
 from Táscala on a plain is another city re- 
 sembling Valladolid, in which I counted one 
 hundred and ninety towers of mosques and 
 houses of Lords. ^^ This Seignory is gov- 
 erned by twenty-six chiefs; all respect and 
 do reverence to an old man more than 
 one hundred and twenty years of age, and 
 
 55 
 
5Q The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 carry him in a litter. The district is most 
 beautiful, and abounds with fruit trees, 
 principally cherries [wild] and apples,^^ and 
 produces much maize. Six leagues from 
 that city is another called Huexotcingo, 
 which is situated at the foot of a mountain, 
 and resembles Burgos. This Seignory is 
 governed by consuls; the district is fair 
 to the eye with most fertile plains and low 
 hills agreeable and productive. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE LAKE OF MEXICO 
 
 The city of Temistitan is surrounded by 
 mountains on all sides, except between North 
 and East. Towards the South there are very 
 high mountains, including the volcano Popo- 
 catepetl, round as a heap of v^^heat, and four 
 leagues or a little more in height. In its 
 highest part it has a mouth a quarter of a 
 league in circuit, from which twice a day 
 and sometimes in the night a mighty cloud 
 of smoke bursts out impetuously, and no 
 matter how strong the wind may be does not 
 vanish, but rises to the first region of the 
 heavens, and there mingles with the clouds, 
 ceasing to be plainly visible. This moun- 
 tain is eleven leagues from Mexico, and about 
 that city are other mountains of great height, 
 some of them ten leagues from Mexico, and 
 others eight. All these mountains are cov- 
 ered with snow for the greater part of the 
 
 57 
 
58 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 year, and in the foothills on both sides are 
 most beautiful towns and villages. There 
 are other mountains, but not very high, being 
 between plain and mountain, and both sides 
 of these are covered with thick woods of pines, 
 ilexes, and oaks. At the foot of the sierras 
 commences a sweet-water lake which has a 
 shore-line of more than thirty leagues; half 
 of it in the direction of the mountains is 
 very good sweet water: the other half gives 
 birth to a current that runs furiously to the 
 north, and from there it is of salt water."*" 
 In the sweet-water lake, there are great 
 growths of tall, beautiful reeds, and many 
 fair villages and small towns, such as Cueta- 
 vaca which is now called Venezuela [Tlahuac], 
 which is large and pleasing; another is called 
 Mezquique [Mixquic], which is larger. Then 
 there is Caloacan [Culuacan], rather smaller 
 than either. ^^ Then there is Suchimilco,^^ 
 which is the largest of them all and remains a 
 little out of the lake and nearer to the shore. 
 There is another Huichilubusaco [Churu- 
 busco], and another called Mexicaltzinco 
 
The Lake of Mexico 59 
 
 which is between the sweet water and the 
 salt. All these towns were on the sweet- 
 water lake and many of them in the middle. 
 The sweet-water lake is long and narrow, 
 and the salt one is round. In the sweet water 
 there are some small fish; in the salt part they 
 are still smaller.^^ 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 OF THE GREAT CITY OF TEMISTITAN, 
 MEXICO 
 
 The great city of Temistitan, Mexico, is 
 built on the salt part of the lake, but not 
 exactly in the middle, for it is a quarter of 
 a league from the nearest part [of the city] 
 to the shore. It is in circumference more 
 than two and a half leagues, or perhaps 
 three, more or less. The majority of those 
 who have visited it estimate the popula- 
 tion at seventy thousand inhabitants, rather 
 more than less.^^ Three high causeways built 
 of stone and earth permit entrance [from the 
 mainland] and each of these has a breadth 
 of thirty paces or more. One of them passes 
 over two leagues of water before getting to 
 the city, and the others a league and a half. 
 These two cross the lake and enter the peopled 
 part [outskirts], in the middle of which they 
 come together, so that the two form one. 
 
 61 
 
62 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 The other runs from the land towards the 
 city for about a quarter of a league, and 
 by it comes an aqueduct or stream of very 
 good and sweet water from a distance of three- 
 quarters of a league. The flow of the water 
 is thicker than the body of a man, and comes 
 into the center of the city. From it drink all 
 the inhabitants. It springs from the foot 
 of a hill where it forms a great fountain from 
 which they carry it to the city." 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 OF THE STREETS 
 
 The great city of Temistitan, Mexico, had 
 and has many fair and broad streets, though 
 among these are two or three pre-eminent. 
 Of the remainder half of each one is of hard 
 earth Uke a pavement, and the other half is 
 by water, so that they leave in their barks 
 and canoes, which are of wood hollowed out, 
 although some of them are large enough to 
 hold commodiously five persons. The in- 
 habitants go for a stroll some in canoes, 
 and others along the land, and keep up con- 
 versations. Besides there are other prin- 
 cipal streets entirely of water, and all the 
 travel is by barks and canoes, as I have said, 
 and without these they could neither leave 
 their houses, nor return to them, and all 
 the other towns being on the lake in the 
 sweet water are established in the same way. 
 
 63 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 OF THE PLAZAS AND MARKET-PLACES 
 
 There are in the city of Temistitan, Mexico, 
 very large and beautiful plazas where they 
 sell all of the things which the natives use. 
 There was especially the great plaza ^® 
 which they call the Tutelula [Tlatelolco], 
 which may be three times the size of the 
 great square of Salamanca. All around it 
 are porticos where every day from twenty 
 to twenty-five thousand people come to buy 
 and sell. But on the market day there are 
 assembled as many as forty or fifty thou- 
 sand. This plaza has a system of its own, 
 for each class of merchandise has its own place. 
 On one side of the square are those who 
 sell gold [in quills], and on another those who 
 sell [precious] stones of divers classes mounted 
 in gold shapes of various birds and animals. 
 In another part they sell beads and mirrors, 
 in another feathers and tufted crests [of 
 
 65 
 
66 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 birds], of all colors to adorn the cloths they 
 wear in war and holidays. Further on they 
 are busy turning stones into knives and 
 swords, which is a marvelous thing to see, 
 and of which we here [in Spain] have no 
 idea, and with them they make swords and 
 bucklers. In one part they sell cloths and 
 garments of various classes for men and in 
 another the habiliments of women. In an- 
 other place they sell sandals, in another the 
 tanned skins of deer and other animals, 
 and finery for the head made out of hair, 
 which all the Indian women wear.*^ Here 
 they sell cotton, there the grains which they 
 use for food, further on bread of divers sorts, 
 then pastry, then hens, chickens, and eggs. 
 Near them are hares, rabbits, deer, quail, 
 geese, and ducks. Soon we arrive at a place 
 where they sell wines of various classes, 
 and then we find all sorts of vegetables. In 
 this street they lay out the peppers, in that 
 medicinal roots and herbs, of which the 
 natives know an infinite variety. In an- 
 other street they have various fruits, and 
 
Plazas and MarheUplaces 67 
 
 further on fire-wood for houses, near-by lime, 
 and following it, [building] stones. In fact 
 each thing is by itself and in order. In 
 addition to this plaza there are others, and 
 markets for food in different parts of the city. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 or THE TEMPLES AND MOSQUES THAT IT HELD 
 
 For a long time they have had in this 
 great city many grand mosques or temples 
 in which they housed their idols and offered 
 sacrifice to them, but the chief mosque was 
 a most wonderful thing to see, since it was 
 as great as a city. It was surrounded by a 
 high wall of masonry, and had four principal 
 entrances, over each of which was a forti- 
 fied structure, filled with all kinds of the 
 arms which they used in their wars. The 
 Lord of the great temple was Montezuma 
 himself,^^ and he had within the walls two 
 thousand men, all selected for their valor, 
 and they guarded his person and accompanied 
 him. When there was any outbreak or 
 rebellion in the city or the environs, they 
 sallied forth, or at least a part of them, and 
 if more people were necessary then the rest 
 joined them, either in the city or its bound- 
 
 69 
 
70 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 ary. Before leaving they went to the armo- 
 ries and armed themselves. Shortly after 
 they offered sacrifice to the chief idol, and 
 having been blessed departed for the war. 
 Within the circuit of the great temple there 
 were many habitations of different kinds, 
 and in some a thousand persons could be 
 lodged without annoyance. Within the en- 
 closure more than twenty towers were lo- 
 cated, all more or less similar to what has 
 been described, although among the rest, 
 there was one greater, longer, broader, and 
 higher, because it was the lodging of the chief 
 idol, for whom all had the greatest devotion. 
 The deities were in the upper part of the 
 tower [teocalli], and they looked upon them 
 with great devotion. In the lower part 
 were the lodgings and rooms of the priests 
 who served in the temple, but the sacrificers 
 were stationed elsewhere. In the mosques 
 of other cities they sing during the night 
 as if they were chanting matins, and they 
 do this also at many hours of the day, 
 divided into two choirs, one on each side. 
 
Temples and Mosques 71 
 
 and continue according to a ritual, one side 
 intoning hymns, and the other responding ^^ 
 as if they were singing vespers. Within the 
 mosque where that is done, there are foun- 
 tains and washing places for the service.^" 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 OF THE HABITATIONS 
 
 There were, and still are in this city, very- 
 good and handsome houses of the Lords, so 
 large, and with so many halls, sitting-rooms, 
 and lodgings with gardens above ^^ and be- 
 low, that it was a marvelous thing to see. 
 I entered more than four times the house of 
 the chief Lord^^ without any other purpose 
 than to see things, and I walked till I was 
 tired, and never saw the whole of it. It was 
 the custom to place at the entrance of all 
 the houses of the Lords very large halls and 
 sitting-rooms around a great patio, and 
 there was one so great that it could contain 
 more than three thousand persons. On the 
 terraced roof above, it having the same ex- 
 tension, thirty mounted men could have 
 ridden cafias ^' as comfortably as on a plaza. 
 
 This great city of Temistitan is a little 
 longer than its width, ^^ and in the middle of it 
 
 73 
 
74 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 where the great mosque used to be, and the 
 palace of the Lord Montezuma, ^^ the Span- 
 iards built their citadel, and established their 
 quarters, and it is as well arranged, and has 
 as many handsome squares and streets, as 
 any city in the world. The streets are wide 
 and long, and lined by beautiful houses of 
 cement and brick, all of the same height, 
 except a few, which have towers, and this 
 uniformity improves their aspect. They 
 number in this ward and in the citadel of 
 the Spaniards more than four hundred good 
 houses, than which no city of Spain has 
 better within such a space, nor even in a 
 greater, and all are strong houses of stone ^* and 
 mortar. There are two great squares, and 
 the chief one has handsome arcades on all 
 the sides. Here also they have built a 
 fine church. The Franciscan convent is suflS- 
 ciently beautiful, but that of the Dominicans 
 is as large, as good, and as well made as any 
 in Spain. In this monastery live preaching 
 friars of upright life and great learning. 
 There is a good hospital and other hermitages. 
 
The Habitations 75 
 
 The houses of the Indians remain in the neigh- 
 borhood of the citadel, or barracks of the 
 Spaniards, and they are surrounded on all 
 sides. In the ward of the Indians" there are 
 more than thirty churches where the natives 
 hear Mass, and are instructed in the things 
 of our holy faith. The people of this city 
 and the suburbs are very skillful with their 
 hands for every kind of thing, and of the 
 greatest ingenuity and industry in the world. 
 There are among them masters of occupa- 
 tions, and to make anything they only need 
 to see it made once or twice. There are 
 no people in the world who hold women in 
 less esteem, for they never tell them what 
 they do, even though they should know that 
 by doing so they would be benefited. They 
 have many women, like the Moors, but one 
 is the principal one and the mistress, and 
 the sons of this one inherit the property of 
 the father. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 MARRIAGE 
 
 They take as many women as they can 
 support, like the Moors, although, as has 
 been said, one is the principal one or wife. 
 The sons of this one inherit while the others 
 do not, and formerly they were considered 
 bastards. In the nuptials with the prin- 
 cipal woman they have some ceremonies 
 which they were not accustomed to have 
 with the others. 
 
 77 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 OF THE BURIALS 
 
 They made in the earth an excavation 
 lined by a wall of rough stone and lime, in 
 which they placed the dead seated in a chair. 
 At the side they placed his sword and shield, 
 burying also certain jewels of gold. I helped 
 to take from a sepulcher something like 
 three thousand castellanos.^^ They placed 
 there also food and drink for some days, 
 and if it was a woman they left at the side the 
 distaff, the spindle, and other instruments of 
 work, saying that where they go they are to 
 be occupied in something and that the food 
 was to sustain them on the road. Many 
 times they burned the dead and interred the 
 ashes. 
 
 All of this province of New Spain and of 
 those other provinces eat human flesh, which 
 they have in greater esteem than any other 
 
 79 
 
80 The Anonymous Conqueror 
 
 food, so much so that many times they go 
 to war and place themselves in peril only 
 to kill some one to eat. They are commonly 
 sodomites as I have said, and drink without 
 moderation. 
 
NOTES 
 
NOTES 
 
 ^ The name of the capital of Montezuma is spelled 
 in various ways by the early chroniclers. In the ac- 
 count of the Anonymous Conqueror it is Temestitan, 
 and Temistitan. Cortes in his letters writes it Temix- 
 titan. In the manuscript of Bernal Diaz it is usually 
 spelled Tenustitan, while a somewhat later writer, 
 Cervantes de Salazar, gives it as Tenuztitlan in one 
 place, and in another as Tenuchtitlan. Gomara 
 gives this latter form. Today we know it as Tenoch- 
 titlan, which is the correct phonetic spelling, conform- 
 ing also to the representation of the name in the picture 
 writing of the Mexican codices and inscriptions. Its 
 meaning is well known. According to the best modern 
 Mexican authority, Peñafiel, and I quote from the 
 later and more extensive edition of his work on the 
 subject of geographic place names in Mexico, "No- 
 menclatura Geográfica de Mexico," 1897, the word 
 may be analyzed as follows: Te-noch-ti-tlan. Tenoch 
 is composed of two particles, Te, represented in pic- 
 ture writing by a rock the Nahuan name for which is 
 tetl, and noch, represented by a cactus tree growing 
 out of the same, the name for which is nochtli. This 
 cactus is the nopal or tuna very common today in 
 Mexico. By elision of the final tl, we thus have 
 tenoch, expressed by the two objects representing the 
 
 8S 
 
84 Notes 
 
 name of the division of the Nahuan family bearing 
 the name of Tenocha. There are many variants of 
 the glyph if such it may be called, the most common 
 being the one above referred to. Others show an eagle 
 perched on the branches of the cactus, and again we 
 find it given with an eagle devouring a snake. Peña- 
 fiel considers the ti, a ligature, and tlan, meaning among, 
 to be understood; hence the sign means among the 
 nopals, or as probably was further expressed by the 
 picture or glyph, the place founded by Tenoch. 
 
 2 To the north. 
 
 ^ It is of course understood that the native Mexicans 
 never used either tin or iron, and these mines must 
 have been found by the Spaniards. 
 
 * The Coyote or Coyotl. Note by Icazbalceta. 
 
 ^ Peccaries. 
 
 ^ The Tlacuatzin or Tlacuache. Note by Icazbal- 
 ceta. The Tlacuache is a small animal like an opossum 
 which feeds on fruits. In Oaxaca it is such a pest 
 that when the fruit of a certain tree is ripe night- 
 watchmen are often employed to protect the fruit. 
 
 ^ The valuable description of the Indian houses 
 of Texcoco by Pomar may be used in amplifying 
 this brief notice of the Anonymous Conqueror con- 
 cerning the dwellings of Tenochtitlan and the Valley 
 of Mexico. Pomar states that the form and con- 
 struction of these houses is low, with no upper story. 
 Some of them are built of stone and lime; others of 
 stone and simple clay, the most of them of adobe 
 (sun-dried mud). The covering is of beams, and in- 
 
Notes 85 
 
 stead of planking there are small strips so well fitted 
 together that none of the earth which forms the top 
 can run through. Most of them enclose a court 
 around which are the rooms which they require; 
 their dormitories and reception rooms for the men 
 in one section, for the women in another, their 
 storage place, kitchens, and corrals. The houses of 
 the principal men and caciques, particularly those 
 of the kings, are very large and massive woodwork. 
 They stand on platforms, the lowest of which is six 
 feet high, and the highest thirty to forty feet in height. 
 The largest rooms are more than one hundred feet 
 lojig and as many wide. They are square, and in the 
 'middle are many wooden pillars at a fixed distance 
 from each other resting on great blocks of stone, 
 and on these the rest of the woodwork is supported. 
 These rooms have no outer doors, only doorways 
 with wooden posts like those inside. The floors were 
 of white stucco or cement. 
 
 * The conquerors accustomed to treat with the 
 Arabs of their country, some give the names of Mes- 
 quites to the temples of the Indians, although they are 
 commonly called cues. Note by Icazbalceta. 
 
 ^ On the subject of soldiers and the organization 
 of the army the reader should consult the critical 
 essay by the late Adolf F. Bandelier, "On the Art of 
 War and Mode of Warfare of the Ancient Mexicans," 
 published in the Tenth Annual Report of the Peabody 
 Museum, Harvard University, 1877. 
 
 ^° The banner referred to is a standard or insignia 
 
86 Notes 
 
 but not a flag. They are represented in the Lienzo 
 of Tlaxcala as well as in other codices. On this sub- 
 ject Mrs. Nuttall has pubUshed an exhaustive treatise 
 basing her studies on the wonderful example of a stan- 
 dard or insignia now in the Ethnographical in Vienna. 
 The title is, "Standard or Head-Dress? An His- 
 torical Essay on a Relic of Ancient Mexico," Archae- 
 ological and Ethnological Papers of the Peabody 
 Museum, Harvard University, Vol. I, No. 1, 1888. 
 
 " To give a man vassals was to make him the 
 feudal Lord of one or more villages. Many writers 
 have denied the existence of the feudal system in 
 Mexico, but it seems probable that it existed though 
 it may not have been hereditary. 
 
 ^^ This armor was called ichcauipilli and was made 
 so strongly that many of the early Spanish soldiers 
 used it as a protection against the darts and swords of 
 the Indians. It is represented in the codices, and in 
 the American Museum of Natural History there is 
 a life-size figure of terra cotta from the Valley of 
 Mexico. It was collected by the translator and de- 
 scribed by him in "An Ancient Figure of Terra-Cotta 
 from the Valley of Mexico," in Bulletin of the A. M. 
 N. H. Vol. IX, Article XVII, 1897. 
 
 >* An example of one of these mosaic-covered 
 head-pieces in the form of an animal's head may be 
 seen in the British Museum. 
 
 ^* These shields were called chimalli and the several 
 examples which have been preserved in Mexico and 
 Europe are probably of the kind referred to by the 
 
Notes 87 
 
 Anonymous Conqueror as having been used solely 
 for festivals and dances. 
 
 ^^ This instrument was known as the atlatl and a 
 number still exist in various museums, some of them 
 beautifully carved and still exhibiting gold-leaf cover- 
 ing. These highly decorated spear throwers were 
 probably used in the ceremonies in which the feather 
 mosaic shields were used. There is a survival of the 
 atlatl in the spear thrower used by the Tarascan fisher- 
 men of Lake Chápala. On this subject of the atlatl 
 consult the paper by IMrs. Zelia Nuttall, "The Atlatl 
 or Spear Thrower of the Ancient Mexicans." Archae- 
 ological and Ethnological of the Peabody Museum, 
 Harvard University, Vol. I, No. 3, 1891. 
 
 ^^ Three-tipped darts, probably like those referred 
 to here are used by the Tarascan fisherman above 
 mentioned, for use with the atlatl. 
 
 ^^ This saw sword is the maquahuitl. No speci- 
 mens of this v/eapon have come down to us, but numer- 
 ous representations are found in the codices. 
 
 ^* Probably Indian allies of the Spaniards. 
 
 ^^ This refers to those who held fiefs. 
 
 2" In several of the codices we find representations 
 of this gladiatorial combat and full descriptions are 
 given by a number of the early Spanish chroniclers. 
 
 2^ Pomar in his narrative of the city of Texcoco, 
 Ms. relates with some variations the ceremonies of 
 this extraordinary sacrifice which the Spaniards called 
 gladiatorial. Although he reduces to four the num- 
 ber of those who contended against the prisoner he 
 
88 Notes 
 
 states that no one was ever so valiant as to escape from 
 the four. Note by Icazbalceta. 
 
 22 Fabric of silk or cloth dyed a very bright purple. 
 Note by Icazbalceta. 
 
 2^ The Anonymous Conqueror was deceived in re- 
 gard to this matter, for the Mexican silk was made 
 from the Mexican ramie, which is identical with " China 
 grass." It was a trade secret, and the merchant 
 caste kept it as long as they could. Ramie is the 
 fiber of a tall nettle. 
 
 2* Tlaolli or Tlaoyalli, that is to say maize. Note 
 by Icazbalceta. Probably tamales. 
 
 25 A small piece of copper money with the e^^ 
 of San Marcos, which is worth about two sous of a 
 franc. Note by Ternaux. In the Mexican codices 
 a bag which contained 8000 grains of cacao repre- 
 sented the number 8000. 
 
 26 A kind of sweetmeat made by boiling the fresh 
 liquor. 
 
 2'^ The Mexicans never wore shoes, a two-toe- 
 strap sandal was the universal foot-gear when such 
 article of clothing was worn. 
 
 2* This is tequila, a hot intoxicating liquor, color- 
 less and of a smoky taste, distilled from the maguey. 
 It is also called mescal. 
 
 29 Maize. 
 
 ^^ The Italian word is cavalieri. 
 
 ^^ These towers were the well-known teocallis, of 
 which a good example may still be seen in Teayo, 
 Vera Cruz. 
 
Notes 89 
 
 ^^ See the plate. No other illustration of this 
 style or type of teocalli is known to the translator. 
 
 ^^ We are ignorant of the signification of the ad- 
 verbial expression per punti and hora: Ternaux trans- 
 lates sans preliminaire, it might be interpreted á 
 horas fijas. Note by Icazbaleeta. 
 
 ^* Teocallis or towers. 
 
 ^^ This paragraph is not translated into Spanish 
 by Icazbaleeta. 
 
 ^^ This paragraph is not translated into Spanish by 
 Icazbaleeta. 
 
 3^ Pilgrimages are still made to the Sacromonte (now 
 dedicated to the virgin) but there is an avenue of 
 cypresses leading to it, whose trees must be more than 
 a thousand years old. In Tetzcuco they say that the 
 remains exist of an old oratory sacred to Tlaloc, on 
 the top of the mountain of that name behind Tetz- 
 cutzingo, a combination of the Amequeme chain which 
 terminates in Popocatepetl, on whose eastern flank 
 the Sacromonte is located. Pilgrims after praying 
 at the shrine climb the mountain as far as they can. 
 
 ^* This undoubtedly refers to the sacerdotal city of 
 Cholula. 
 
 ^^ Tejocotes. 
 
 *° It is difficult to comprehend either the Spanish 
 or Italian, for neither writer seemed to know the 
 geography of the two lakes. 
 
 ^^ It is at the foot of the Hill of the Star where the 
 fires were lighted every fifty-two years, and a good 
 road runs to Ixtapalapan, where salt-works had been 
 
90 Notes 
 
 established as far back as the time of the "Toltecs," 
 upon the south shore of the lake of Tetzcuco or Mexico. 
 The fresh-water lake rises from springs in the rocks 
 forming the southeastern end. 
 
 *^ Xochimilco. 
 
 *^ We are reminded here of a better and much truer 
 description which was given by a Mexican poet who 
 in choice sapphics before the coming of the Spaniards 
 compared the string of lovely small towns along the 
 south and west of the lake of Xochimilco to a line of 
 beautiful girls chattering and laughing and paddling 
 their feet in the water. 
 
 ^ Prescott in his Conquest of Mexico questions the 
 statement of the Anonymous Conqueror concerning 
 the population, because all the principal ancient 
 writers, such as Zuazo, Peter Mártir, Gomara, and 
 Herrera, agree in giving to the City of Mexico at the 
 time of the arrival of the Spaniards 70,000 families; 
 it is probable that the original Spanish text of the 
 Anonymous Conqueror stated also families, and 
 the Italian translator made a mistake in interpreting 
 habitatori when he should have written fuochi. In 
 this case this document would confirm the usual 
 calculation of 300,000 inhabitants. Note by Icaz- 
 balceta. We are inclined to believe that the estimate 
 of the Anonymous Conqueror is a more sane and rea- 
 sonable one than those of the other early writers 
 who were not eyewitnesses of the conquest, and hence 
 had not the same opportunity of judging of the size 
 of the city as the Anonymous Conqueror. 
 
Notes 91 
 
 ^^ The aqueduct ran from Chapultepec to the 
 great boulevard between Tenochtitlan and Mexico 
 and was carried on to the Salto by the Spaniards 
 long afterwards. The Anonymous Conqueror sup- 
 posed that the two cities were one organization, but 
 they were distinct, and the two aqueducts, on the 
 east from Chapultepec, and on the west (Calzada 
 Veronica) from the spring of the Four Lionesses, in 
 the hills towards Toluca, ending where the American 
 Cemetery is now located, were probably built before 
 the arrival of the Aztecs in the valley of Mexico, even 
 before the Culuas arrived in the valley. The posi- 
 tion of Tenochtitlan was strong, but it was necessary 
 to hold the two springs from a possible enemy. If 
 these passed into the hands of invaders the great city 
 was compelled to surrender even to savage foes much 
 their inferiors. 
 
 *^ For a longer and slightly more detailed descrip- 
 tion of the great Tianguiz or market the reader is 
 referred to the Second Letter of Cortes, MacNutt 
 ed. Vol. I, pp. 257, 259. 
 
 *^ We suspect here some corruption in the text, 
 because the phrase, conciere de testa fatti di capelli 
 che usano tutte I'indiane, is unintelligible for me at 
 least. Conciero is a word little used in the Italian, 
 as we only find it verified by a single authority (Cartas 
 del Tasso) and the meaning is given of rassettatura, 
 conciatura, that is, composition, finery as the old writers 
 said. With some violence it might be extended to 
 signify head-dress or adornment for the head: but 
 
92 Notes 
 
 the following remains to be explained, that is to say, 
 that this adornment was made of hair (capelli). 
 Ternaux translates (p. 96) des corbeilles faites avec 
 des chevaux dont toutes les Indiennes font usage: 
 the which we do not know how he was able to deduce: 
 and I do not know what variation there might be in 
 the text of the edition of 1606 which was the one he 
 used. I have translated from that of 1556. All of 
 our early writers make long mention of the famous 
 market and of the things sold there, but I do not find 
 in any of them that which would correspond to these 
 head-dresses of the Indian women. It seems to have 
 been the general custom among them to leave the 
 head uncovered. Note by Icazbalceta. 
 
 ^' As Pontifex Maximus. 
 
 *^ Antiphonally. 
 
 ^° This was the case in the temple of Quetzalcoatl 
 at Cholula. 
 
 ^^ On the terrace roof. 
 
 ^2 Montezuma in the Coatepantli. 
 
 ^^ The game of Canes was a sport in which two 
 bands threw their canes at each other to simulate 
 javelins. This sport the Spaniards inherited from the 
 Arabs, by whom it was called Lab-el-jend, or cane 
 play. 
 
 ^ It was shaped somewhat like the ace of diamonds. 
 
 ^^ Within the Coatepantli. 
 
 66 Tetzontli. 
 
 " The faction of Tlaltelolco. 
 
 6* The search for gold in the graves of the ancient 
 
Notes 93 
 
 Mexicans was later prosecuted with great vigor by 
 soldiers acting under the orders of Cortes, not only 
 in the vicinity of the former capital of the Aztecs in 
 the Valley of Mexico, but in various parts of southern 
 Mexico, and large quantities of gold objects were 
 taken out and melted up. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 llllllllllllillllililliliil 
 
 016 241 168 8