PROCEEDINGS AND ADDRESSES 
 
 ATTENDING THE PRESENTATION OF A 
 SILVER CENTRE-PIECE— REPRESENTING 
 AN ANCIENT AZTEC TEOCALLI— TO THE 
 AZTEC CLUB, AT ITS ANNUAL MEETING, IN 
 NEW YORK CITY, OCTOBER 13™, 1892, BY 
 COL. DE LANCEY FLOYD-JONES, U .S. ARMY 
 
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 7"^^^ 
 
 
 
 PROCEEDINGS AND ADDRESSES 
 
 ATTENDING THE PRESENTATION OF A 
 SILVER CENTRE-PIECE— REPRESENTING 
 AN ANCIENT AZTEC TEOCALLI— TO THE 
 AZTEC CLUB, AT ITS ANNUAL MEETING, IN 
 NEW YORK CITY, OCTOBER 13TH, 1892, BY 
 COL DE LANCEY FLOYD-JONES, U .S. ARMY 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 PRESS OF J. J. LITTLE & CO. 
 
 2-20 ASTOR PLACE 
 1892 
 
A, 
 
 Gift 
 
 i9ia 
 
At the forty-fifth meeting of the Aztec Club, held at Sherry's, 
 in New York City, on the afternoon of October 13, 1892, and 
 in due course of business, the following letter was read by 
 Colonel Floyd-Jones: 
 
 " Aztec Club, 37th Street and Fifth Avenue, 
 New York City, October 13, 1892. 
 
 " To the Officers and Members of the AzTEC CLUB : 
 
 " Gentlemen : I take pleasure in presenting to this Club a 
 souvenir in the form of a centre-piece for your dining table, 
 which, I trust, will serve as a reminder of the land where this 
 Club had its birth. The idea is taken from the design on the 
 Club's diploma, and has been carried out by Tiffany & Com- 
 pany. It represents an ancient Aztec teocalli (God's house), 
 from which are growing plants common to Mexico, con- 
 spicuous among which are several varieties of cacti, the agave 
 Americana, or pulque plant, and the royal palm, 
 
 "To those of us who had the good fortune of serving in that 
 country, this design will readily recall old associations and 
 pleasant memories; and to those who are gradually filling our 
 places it may commend itself as a work of art, and possibly 
 maybe the means of inducing some to visit the beautiful coun- 
 try of the ancient Aztecs. Should it have the effect of adding 
 in any manner greater interest in this Club, my object will be 
 fully accomplished. 
 
 " I now leave the token for your acceptance and enlightened 
 criticism, with the hope that all who are present to-day, and 
 our absent comrades as well, may long be spared to gather 
 about it from year to year, and renew around the flowing bowl 
 the memory of those days when we roved among the royal 
 palms, drank the juice of the maguey, stood at the foot of 
 
ancient teocalH ruins, and let our fancy fly back to the olden 
 time when their tops smoked with the blood and ashes oi 
 human sacrifice. 
 
 '• Yours very cordially, 
 
 "De Lancey Floyd-Jones, 
 
 " Colofiel U. S, Army {retired) ." 
 
 Professor Henry Coppee, having been designated by Presi- 
 dent Porter a committee of one to draft the proper preamble 
 and resolutions for accepting the centre-piece, reported the 
 following, which were unanimously adopted: 
 
 " Aztec Club, 37lh Street and Fifth Avenue, 
 New York, October 13, 1892. 
 
 " Minute of Record. — The beautiful and appropriate silver 
 centre-piece, presented at this meeting to the Aztec Club of 
 1847 by our friend and comrade Colonel De Lancey Floyd- 
 Jones, deserves special notice in our records. It was a generous 
 thought in him to make us such a handsome present; it was 
 a happy thought to take for its subject such a reminiscence 
 of ancient Mexico, a ruined temple, the like of which many of 
 us saw in our sojourn there, and a drawing of which is at the 
 head of our diplomas. 
 
 " The care which he has bestowed, and the charming taste 
 he has displayed in the execution of this work, especially in 
 encircling it with tropical foliage, add at once to its intrinsic 
 and memorial value. His letter of presentation contains all 
 that need be said by way of preliminary, and to elicit our 
 thanks. Later it is hoped that he will give us additional 
 information with regard to it. Meantime it is the duty and 
 great pleasure of the Club to place upon the record of this 
 meeting the following resolutions : 
 
 ''Resolved, That the hearty thanks of the Aztec Club are 
 eminently due, and are hereby offered, to Colonel De Lancey 
 Floyd-Jones, for his generous and tasteful gift of a silver cen- 
 tre-piece representing an ancient Mexican teocalli in ruins. 
 
5 
 
 ''Resolved, That his letter accompanying the gift be spread 
 upon the minutes of the Club, and Colonel Floyd-Jones be 
 requested to give us further information of Aztec ruins, etc. 
 
 ''Resolved, That the centre-piece be always placed upon the 
 table at our annual and other banquets, and that it shall be 
 confided to the keeping of the Treasurer. 
 
 "Resolved, That an engrossed copy of this minute and 
 these resolutions be sent by the Secretary to Colonel Floyd- 
 Jones." 
 
 In reply to the Minute of Re cord Xo\on€[ Floyd-Jones briefly 
 expressed his high appreciation of the cordial manner in which 
 his present had been received, and added that he had prepared 
 a paper, chiefly relating to the Aztecs, which he would read 
 to them at the banquet in the evening. 
 
 The banquet in the evening was held at Sherry's, and was 
 attended by the following members, viz. : 
 
 General Fitz-John Porter, President, 
 
 General Stewart Van Vliet, Vice-President, 
 
 Colonel De Lancey Floyd-Jones, Treasurer, 
 
 General Z. B. Tower, 
 
 General Rufus Ingalls, 
 
 Admiral Alexander C. Rhind, 
 
 General C. C. Augur, 
 
 General James Oakes, 
 
 General James B. Fry, 
 
 General D. M. Frost, 
 
 Professor Henry Copp^e, LL.D., 
 
 Colonel Thomas Y. Field, 
 
 Colonel Frank Huger, 
 
 Colonel George B. McClellan, 
 
 Captain Henry P. Kingsbury, 
 
 Lieutenant Richard G. Davenport, 
 
 Mr. Augustus Porter Barnard, 
 
 Mr. John H. Barnard, 
 
 Mr. Charles Biddle, 
 
 Mr. John Winter Brannan, 
 
 Mr.' Edward H. Floyd-Jones, 
 
 Mr. Graham Frost, 
 
Mr. J. A. Hays, 
 
 Mr. Winfield Scott Hoyt, 
 
 Mr. J. Watts Kearny. 
 
 And the following guests : 
 
 General John M. Schofield, Commanding U. S. Army, 
 
 Major Clifton Comly, 
 
 Mr. Edward Floyd De Lancey, 
 
 Mr. Charles B. Fosdick. 
 
 After the dinner and while enjoying the wine and cigars, 
 General Porter toasted Colonel Floyd-Jones, and asked him to 
 comply with the request, as made in the resolutions at the 
 business meeting, to which the colonel responded as follows : 
 
 Mr. President and Comrades of the Aztec Club : 
 
 In rising to respond to your toast, I feel that I cannot fully 
 convey my grateful thanks for the warm terms and kind words 
 in which the Aztec Club has received this centre-piece, repre- 
 senting an ancient Aztec teocalli, and I am afraid that I have 
 not words which will adequately express my feelings; but rest 
 assured that I shall prize more than I can tell the engrossed 
 copy of the Minute of Record which the Secretary has been 
 requested to furnish me, and which conveys in such agreeable 
 terms your appreciation of this gift. 
 
 In regard to the subject upon which I propose speaking this 
 evening, as requested in one of your resolutions, and which 
 chiefly relates to the Aztecs, I fear that our worthy President, 
 General Fitz-Jphn Porter, has, in his introductory remarks, 
 raised your expectations too high, but on one point you can 
 rest assured, I shall aim not to tire by too long a talk. 
 
 And first, I think it .appropriate to allude to the origin of 
 this Club, which was started in the City of Mexico, on the 13th 
 of October, 1847, within a month after the occupation of that 
 city by the army under General Scott. Hence the date we 
 celebrate is the anniversary of the foundation of this club in 
 Mexico. We formerly kept the 14th of September, the date 
 on which the city fell into our hands, but it was thought that 
 the later date was more appropriate, and hence the 13th of 
 
October was adopted. Some resort of this description seemed 
 essential to the officers stationed in the capital, as a promoter 
 of good-fellowship, and as furnishing a home where they could 
 pass their spare hours in social intercourse ; and also as giving 
 them a restaurant where more palatable and healthful viands 
 could be procured and at a much less price than at the best 
 fondas of the city. 
 
 As far as I have been able to learn, the chief promoters of 
 it were General Charles F. Smith, Colonel John B. Grayson, 
 General John B. Magruder, General Robert Buchanan, Gen- 
 eral Charles P. Stone, and Professor Henry Coppee, all of 
 the regular army, and General Franklin Pierce of the volun- 
 teers, afterwards President of the United States. I have given 
 the highest rank to which these officers attained, for at the 
 date of our organization scarcely any were above the rank of 
 captain. General Winfield Scott and Chaplain M. McCartey 
 were the only honorary members elected, and the former 
 proved an excellent friend of the Club, the supplies for which 
 were largely brought from New Orleans, and introduced with- 
 out duty, or the expense of ocean freight or land carriage, 
 from Vera Cruz up to the city. The initiation fee was $20. 
 I have not been able to learn that any annual dues were 
 exacted. 
 
 The original home of the Club was a handsome one, as it 
 occupied the splendid mansion of Seiior Boca Negra, who had 
 been formerly Minister to the United States from Mexico. 
 The entire building, which was furnished, was at the disposal 
 of the Club, and supplied most of the plant with which the 
 Club began housekeeping. Handsome dinners were given, and 
 almost every person of distinction who visited Mexico during 
 its occupation were put up at the Club, and so popular did it 
 become that after it was fairly in working order admission was 
 rather difficult. The building occupied was located on one of 
 the streets leading out of the Calle Plateros, and but two 
 blocks from the Grand Plaza, a most convenient situation, and 
 not far from the headquarters of General Scott, Commander- 
 in-Chief. 
 
 It may interest you to learn that the Calle Plateros, or Silver- 
 smith Street, is one of the most prominent in the city, and 
 
8 
 
 corresponds with our Broadway. It has more fine shops upon 
 it than any other in Mexico, hence it is the popular promenade 
 and driving street, and the resort of the fashionable young men, 
 who there have the opportunity of meeting their fair friends. 
 Many of the principal liotels and restaurants are located upon 
 it and its extension — for in Mexico the streets often change 
 their names every second block. To reach the Alameda or 
 principal park, or the Paseo, the fashionable drive, one is 
 likely to pass through the Calle Plateros. 
 
 Personally I did not become a member of this Club while in 
 Mexico, although solicited to do so, as I and most of my regi- 
 ment were quartered, during much of our stay in the valley, in 
 Tacubya, some five or six miles away from the city, and under 
 these circumstances the Club would have been of little service 
 to a second lieutenant who was closely confined to his company 
 duties, whose only income was his monthly pay of $65.50, 
 and to whom a dollar looked about " the size of a cart-wheel." 
 This simile I borrow from a captain of the Fourth Infantry, 
 who used to call up his little son and ask him how Ipig a dollar 
 looked to a second lieutenant, and the little fellow would 
 put on a quizzical look and say, " About the size of a cart- 
 wheel ! " 
 
 The records of the Club show that liquors and cigars were 
 pretty freely indulged in, as the sales sometimes reached as 
 high as $100 per day, and, as before stated, the restaurant 
 was fairly well patronized ; but the greater share of the com- 
 pany officers lived in their company messes ; officers detached 
 from regimental or company duty were the principal fre- 
 quenters of the Club restaurant.* 
 
 And now a brief reference to Hernando Cortez. It is not 
 my purpose to tell you of the conquest of Mexico. This has 
 
 * At the time the "Army of Occupation" left Mexico the Aztec Club numbered 
 166 members. 
 
 Of these there are living, about 27 
 
 Mexican war officers, army, navy, and marines, since elected and 
 
 now living, about 37 
 
 Associate members, and successors to members elected and liv- 
 ing, about 136 
 
 Total approximate strength of Club 200 
 
been done in such a fascinating way by Prescott and other 
 writers that it would be presumption on my part to attempt it, 
 but of the wonderful man, Hernando Cortez, who first entered 
 Mexico and conquered the Aztecs, it seems appropriate to say 
 something. It is well known that he set sail on his expedition 
 from the island of Cuba in the latter part of the year 1518, 
 after encountering innumerable difficulties and all sorts of 
 obstacles, including that of the jealousy of the governor, Ve- 
 lasquez, who had intrusted him with command. He reached 
 the Mexican coast early in 1 5 19, and touching at various places, 
 finally effected a permanent landing, April 21, 15 19, at a point 
 near the site of the present city of Vera Cruz, and a little later 
 established himself at a place to the north of the present city, 
 which he called Villa Rica de Vera Cruz. The Vera Cruz of 
 to-day was not settled and incorporated until 161 5. 
 
 Almost immediately upon landing he made friendly overtures 
 to the natives, and by the aid of their well-organized system 
 of couriers communicated with their emperor in the Valley of 
 Mexico, and asked permission to visit him at his capital. Cortez 
 had been only a short time in camp when he was waited upon 
 by an embassy from Montezuma, whose empire extended from 
 the Valley of Mexico to the Gulf. The embassy, consisting of 
 two Aztec nobles, was accompanied by the governor of the 
 province and a hundred slaves, who bore rich gifts from the 
 Mexican monarch ; and with the view of showing the progress 
 this people had made in manufactures and the arts, I give the 
 list of articles as detailed by Prescott : 
 
 " They were of the most miscellaneous kind ; shields, helmets, 
 cuirasses, embossed with plates and ornaments of pure gold ; 
 collars and bracelets of the same metal, sandals, fans, panaches, 
 and crests of variegated feathers, intermingled with gold and 
 rich thread, and sprinkled with pearls and precious stones ; 
 imitations of birds and animals in wrought and cast gold and 
 silver of exquisite workmanship ; curtains, coverlets, and robes 
 of cotton, fine as silk, of rich and various dyes, interwoven 
 with featherwork that rivalled the delicacy of painting. There 
 were more than thirty loads of cotton cloth in addition." A 
 load for a Mexican bearer or porter was from fifty to sixty 
 
 pounds. " Among the articles sent, and which excited the 
 
 1* 
 
lO 
 
 most admiration from the Spaniards, were two circular plates 
 of gold and silver as large as carriage wheels ; one, representing 
 the sun, was richly carved with plants and animals, no doubt 
 denoting the Aztec Century." It was thirty palms in circum- 
 ference, and was valued at 20,000 pesos de ore — the value of a 
 peso de ore at that date in our currency being about equivalent 
 to $11.67. Such a display of rich wares, added to the abun- 
 dance of gold, naturally increased the cupidity of the Spaniards, 
 but it also gave evidence of a people that was far advanced, 
 and many regarded it as foolhardy, with their limited force, to 
 make the attempt of advancing into the interior, especially in 
 view of the opposition of Montezuma, who had expressed him- 
 self through his embassy as opposed to their coming. But 
 Cortez, with his indomitable will and determined spirit, decided 
 that the object of his expedition had not been completed and 
 that they must go forward. This brought forth murmurings 
 from his people, and fearing that they might take to the ships 
 and return, he decided to burn his transports and thus prevent 
 their turning back. It was a bold measure, but by appealing 
 to their pride, and the probabilities of possessing a country 
 which was so rich in precious metals, he was able to conquer 
 their fears, and preparations were made for the march to the 
 interior. 
 
 With the details of this march I will not delay you. Pro- 
 fessor Henry Copp^e, one of the oldest and most active mem- 
 bers of this Club, has, in a paper read before the Military 
 Service Institution of the United States, painted in his most 
 charming style many of the incidents of this campaign, and 
 has most successfully pointed out the many coincidents be- 
 tween the march of Cortez and that made in 1847, three hun- 
 dred and twenty-seven years later, by the American army 
 under General Winfield Scott, at that time Commander-in- 
 Chief of the United States forces, and a splendid specimen of 
 the cultured soldier and gentleman. 
 
 Both armies marched over nearly the same route toward 
 the capital. Leaving the tierra caliente, with its pestilential 
 climate and innumerable pests, in the form of mosquitoes, 
 wood-ticks, and other insects, it entered the garden-land of 
 Jalapa and into what is known as the tierra teviplada^ and a 
 
1 1 
 
 still further rise brought them to the high table-lands of Puebla 
 and near the present city of that name. Here Cortez halted, 
 not only to refresh his little army, but he was here opposed by 
 the Tlascalans, a warlike people who had never submitted to 
 the rule of Montezuma. The Tlascalans were bold warriors, 
 and with a large force opposed the march of Cortez, making 
 repeated charges upon his little band ; but the skill of the 
 Spanish commander, combined with the use of cannon and 
 firearms, and aided by his little troop of cavalry, gained the 
 day, and eventually resulted not only in their submission but 
 in forming an alliance with the Spaniards against their en- 
 emy, the Aztecs, 
 
 The entrance of Cortez into Tlascala was a royal one, and 
 its inhabitants turned out in great numbers to greet the Span- 
 iards, to whom they presented wreaths of roses ; their houses 
 were hung with flowers, and arches of boughs were thrown 
 across the streets. Cortez, in writing to the emperor, speaks 
 of the greatness of the city, and compares it with Granada 
 under the Moors. The population of the city must have been 
 large, as it is repeatedly asserted that thirty thousand souls 
 were often gathered in the market on a public day. 
 
 From Tlascala he proceeded to Cholula, which he had been 
 invited to visit through the chief men of the city, and 
 although it lay off the direct road to the Mexican capital, he 
 decided to inspect this great commercial emporium, the inhab- 
 itants of which excelled in the manufacture of cotton and 
 agave cloths, and also in working in metals and pottery. I 
 will not detain you with the details of his visit to the Cholu- 
 lans, or of the attempt there made to decoy him into a snare, 
 and thus destroy his entire party, nor of the heavy retribution 
 that followed its discovery. It "was in this city that the Span- 
 iards saw the great pyramid of Cholula, one of the very largest 
 of the empire, a more detailed account of which I give fur- 
 ther on. 
 
 His march from Cholula to the capital city of the Aztecs 
 was not further opposed, and by invitation of Montezuma he 
 led his force of Spanish troops and Tlascalan allies directly 
 into the heart of the city, and was quartered in the vicinity of 
 the great teocalli, which, with its surroundings, occupied the 
 
12 
 
 present grand square of the City of Mexico, and some of the 
 adjoining streets. 
 
 And now it seems time to speak of the teocalli, or religious 
 temples, which were widely distributed throughout the Aztec 
 dominions, and form one of the chief objects of interest in 
 our remarks this evening. Translated literally, teocalli means 
 house of a God (" teotl, a god ; calli, a house "). 
 
 These teocalli or Mexican temples were very numerous ; 
 there were often hundreds in the principal cities, and, to aid 
 in your better understanding of their construction, I give Pres- 
 cott's description of them : " They were solid masses of earth, 
 covered with brick or stone, and in their form resembled the 
 pyramidal structures of ancient Egypt. The bases of many 
 of them were more than a hundred feet square ; the great 
 temple in the City of Mexico was said to have been about 
 three hundred feet, and they towered to a great height. They 
 were distributed into four or five stories, each of smaller 
 dimensions than that below. The ascent was by a flight of 
 steps at an angle of the pyramid on the outside. This led to 
 a sort of terrace or gallery at the base of the second story, 
 which passed quite around the building to another flight of 
 stairs, commencing also at the same angle as the preceding 
 one, and directly over it, and leading to a similar terrace, so 
 that one had to make the circuit of the temple several times 
 before reaching the summit. In some instances the stairway 
 led directly up the centre of the western face of the building." 
 The model before you may be taken to represent one of the 
 latter class. " The top was a broad area on which were erected 
 one or two towers, forty or fifty feet high. These were the 
 sanctuaries which contained the sacred images of the presiding 
 deities. Before these towers stood the dreadful stone of sac- 
 rifice, and two lofty altars on which fires were kept, as inex- 
 tinguishable as those in the temple of Vesta. There were said 
 to be six hundred of these altars on smaller buildings within 
 the inclosure of the great temple of Mexico, which, with those 
 on the sacred edifices of other parts of the city, shed a brilliant 
 illumination over its streets through the darkest night." 
 
 The number of priests connected with these temples was 
 enormous, and in the great temple of the City of Mexico they 
 
were estimated as high as five thousand. It was the high- 
 priest who performed the service of sacrifice ; for this pur- 
 pose the temple was surmounted by a large block of stone, 
 that in the great temple of Mexico was of jasper, which had 
 a convex surface, and when the victim was laid upon it the 
 breast was raised, which enabled the priest to perform his 
 work with greater ease. There is a good specimen of this 
 stone now in the museum of the City of Mexico. The breast 
 of the victim was cut open by the aid of a sharp razor of itzli, 
 or obsidian, the hand thrust into the wound, and the heart 
 torn out, which, hot and reeking, was deposited on a golden 
 censer before the idol. The body of the slaughtered victim 
 was then hurled down the steep stairs of the pyramid, and the 
 remains were gathered up by the multitude beneath, who pre- 
 pared with them the cannibal repast. The number of these 
 sacrifices within the empire is given at figures that stagger 
 belief, but scarcely any author estimates the yearly sacrifices 
 at less than twenty thousand, while others give the numbers 
 at fifty thousand. At the dedication of the great temple of 
 Huitsilopochtli, the Mexican war-god, i486, and for which the 
 prisoners taken in battle had been for several j-ears reserved, 
 it is said that seventy thousand captives perished at the shrine 
 of this deity. This seems incredible, but it is attested by the 
 best authors. It is stated that one of Cortez's soldiers counted 
 the skulls, which it was customary to preserve in one of the 
 edifices attached to the great temple, and that they numbered 
 one hundred and thirty-six thousand. This is given by Bernal 
 Diaz, and this faithful soldier is generally accredited with tell- 
 ing the truth — at least, his narrative so impressed me. Further- 
 more, he wrote his narrative forty-nine years after the con- 
 quest, and at his mature age he was not likely to be very far 
 wrong in his statements. The present cathedral in \.\\& plaza 
 mayor of the City of Mexico stands on the same site that was 
 occupied by the great Aztec temple, and its foundation is 
 believed to be formed from the images of their various deities. 
 But do not imagine, from what I have above related, that 
 these people were cannibals ; for, while their religious cere- 
 monies authorized their feasting upon the bodies of those that 
 they had sacrificed to their gods, they would not under other 
 
14 
 
 conditions partake of human flesh ; and Diaz, in describing the 
 appearance of the City of Mexico after its capture, says that 
 he had never seen a place where there were so many weak and 
 sickly men, women, and children, who were famishing for the 
 want of food. The ground had been dug up to get at the 
 roots of such vegetation as it afforded, and the trees were 
 stripped of their bark; but in the midst of all this distress 
 there was no evidence that they had in a single instance preyed 
 upon each other. 
 
 My own observations of these Aztec temples were limited ; 
 during the stay at Puebla of General Worth's division, to 
 which my regiment belonged, I visited the one at Cholula, 
 dedicated to Ouetzalcoatl, the god of air. This enormous 
 mound of earth and brick has a perpendicular height of 177 
 feet, and covers an area of about forty-four acres, and the plat- 
 form on the top covers more than one acre. The date of its 
 construction is unknown, as the Aztecs found it there when 
 they entered on the plateau of Puebla. Humboldt gives a 
 good illustration of the size of this teocalli by comparing it to 
 a mass of bricks covering a square four times as large as the 
 Place Vendome at Paris, and of twice the height of the Louvre. 
 The view from its summit is superb ; to the west lies the chain 
 of mountains which incloses the Valley of Mexico, and standing 
 in their midst are those splendid snow-peaks, Popocatepetl and 
 Iztaccihuatl (white woman), and nearer, the beautiful-shaped 
 Sierra de la Malinche, which bears the outline of a recumbent 
 female figure ; at your feet is seen the splendid and fertile 
 plateau of Puebla, bountifully watered, and yielding the best 
 wheat in the country. 
 
 On another occasion, and after the fall of Mexico, while the 
 army was occupying the vaUey and awaiting the negotiations 
 which were then pending for peace, a party of officers, escorted 
 by a detail of cavalry under Major Sibley, made an expedition 
 to the south of the city and past the valley of Cuernavaca and 
 so on to the cave of Cacauamilpa, one of the most interesting 
 excursions I have ever made. On this trip we passed the ruins 
 of an ancient teocalli, which surmounted a hill that was ter- 
 raced ; in this instance the Aztecs had chosen a natural mound 
 and on it erected the temple of sacrifice. The rock-work was 
 
15 
 
 entire, and the steps, which were still in position, were placed 
 in the face of the temple, similar to the one you have before 
 you ; and, like it, growing from the base, sides, and summit 
 were shrubs and plants which were found in tropical Mex- 
 ico. Tile rock-work was smoothly cut and closely joined, and 
 from a casual inspection I should say the material was of 
 granite. The terraces of the hill or mountain were very dis- 
 tinct, and served the same purposes in the Aztecs' religious 
 ceremonies as the various stories of their temples which the 
 Spaniards found in the cities of Mexico, viz., in the display of 
 their victims as they were led along the mountain side up to 
 the place of sacrifice. 
 
 Having given at some length an account of their teocallis 
 and some of the ceremonies attending their religious and su- 
 perstitious rites, let us turn to a more pleasing and agreeable 
 picture of Aztec character, which, apart from the usages which 
 their religion inspired, possessed many of the characteristics 
 of a civilized community. 
 
 Of the early origin of this people little is positively known, 
 but their first home has been placed in New Mexico at a point 
 called Aztlan. Be it there or in more remote regions, it is 
 firmly claimed that they came from the north, and according to 
 an oracle were to wander until they beheld perched upon the 
 stem of a prickly pear, which grew from the crevice of a 
 rock, a splendid specimen of the royal eagle with a serpent in 
 its talons and with wings expanded. This, tradition says, they 
 found in Lake Tezcuco, in the Valley of Mexico, and there 
 they laid the foundation of their city by sinking piles, on which 
 they erected light structures of reeds and rushes. This took 
 place about the year 1325. 
 
 The place was called Tenochtitlan, from its miraculous origin, 
 though only known to the Spaniards by its other name of 
 Mexico, derived from the war-god, Mexitli. This legend of 
 the city's foundation is further commemorated by the device 
 of the eagle and cactus being adopted as the arms of modern 
 Mexico. 
 
 And here I wish to digress for a moment and give my per- 
 sonal experience of the refreshing nature of the tuna, or fruit 
 of the prickly pear. The morning drill hours, while my regi- 
 
i6 
 
 nient, the Fourth Infantry, was stationed in the City of Mexico, 
 were usually from 9 A. M. until ii A. M., or even later, nearly 
 half * an hour being consumed in marching to and from the 
 drill ground ; and on our return to quarters, which were in 
 the Hospital Terceros, near the Mineria, or College of Mines, I 
 often resorted to a fruit-stand near by and ate a dozen or more 
 of the juicy tunas, which I found most refreshing after the 
 fatigue of a long, hot drill, the Mexican who served me cutting 
 the fruit open and presenting it so that I effectually avoided 
 all the prickles with which the outer surface is so well 
 guarded. 
 
 Let us now take a glance at the form of government of the 
 Aztecs; their laws, judicial system, and method of raising the 
 revenues which supported the state. Prescott tells us that 
 the sovereign was selected from the brothers of the late ruler, 
 or, in default of them, from his nephews and from among those 
 who had distinguished themselves in battle. The new monarch 
 was installed with great pomp. The captives that he had 
 taken in battle served not only to swell the procession into 
 the capital, but also to furnish victims for the religious cere- 
 monies. 
 
 The power of the monarch was absolute, and all laws ema- 
 nated from him, and were executed by judges appointed by 
 the crown, who retained their offices during good behavior, 
 and who were held responsible with their lives for the faithful 
 execution of their high trust. To receive presents or a bribe 
 was punishable with death. The various laws of the Aztecs 
 were registered and exhibited to the people through their 
 hieroglyphical paintings; a capital sentence was indicated 
 by a line traced with an arrow across the portrait of the 
 accused. 
 
 Slavery was permitted, but there were various grades of it ; 
 those taken prisoners in war were almost always reserved for 
 sacrifice. There were other classes of slaves — criminals, public 
 debtors, persons who from poverty gave up their freedom, and 
 children sold by their parents, owing to their inability to main- 
 tain them ; in most of the latter cases the slavery was mild in 
 form. 
 
 The revenues for the support of the monarch and his sur- 
 
ANCIENT AZTEC IDOL AND KNIFE FROM THE CITY OF MEXICO. 
 
i; 
 
 roundings, as also for the various deoartmenf = ^f 
 
 tTxT/" "" t^-^^V™™ "'^ "°"" iands,a„d in part y 
 HnH ?r ™ "'' P"^^'" '^"<^= *"= "''"^•"y paid in 
 
 knd and large granaries were established for tl,e sto.i " 
 of these revenues. While the places in the vicinity of th^ 
 cap.tal were bound to supply workmen for the king they 
 were also requ.red to furnish fuel, provisions, and whatever 
 
 ZrZll ' "T "-"^— °f I- "ou;ehold. Th e 
 uas also a tax on the various manufactures of the kinc-dom 
 wh.ch tribute was paid in kind, and consisted of a great var,e7; 
 o art.cles. such as cotton dresses, ornaments, arm's and u ! 
 s.ls of copper, gra.n, fruits, cochineal, cacao, mats, etc. 
 
 Communication was kept up with the most remote parts of 
 
 he emp.re by means of couriers, and post-houses were es ab 
 
 Lshed along the main routes, about six miles apart The 
 
 cour,er, bearmg his despatches in the form of hieroglyphical 
 
 pamt.ngs, ran w,th them to the first station, where they were 
 
 sta'r- h^ltl" ""T^" '"' '^"'"^ f"™"'' '° another 
 
 stage, by this means despatches were often carried two hun- 
 dred n,,les per day, and it is said that fresh fish were served 
 at Montezuma s table twenty-four hours after they were taken 
 from the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 rer^arl-rblf' "T' '"'"f ""S -'bj«ts in connection with this 
 remarkable people were the.r hieroglyphics, or picture writings 
 wh.ch m the New World correspond to those of the Egyptilt 
 .n the Old, although the former were of a greatly infenw'odT 
 Imperfect as they were, they seem to have met the demand 
 o the nat.on and been able to record their laws ; their ro Is 
 which gave the taxes imposed upon the various towns; the; 
 mythology, calendars, and rituals ; and, taken with the oral 
 ns ruction given by the priests, who instructed the youth in 
 his ory, arithmetic astronomy, mythology, etc., completed 
 what may be termed the literature of the Aztecs 
 
 The manuscripts were made of various materials, sometimes 
 of cotton cloth or of skins nicely prepared ; but the chief 
 part was from the leaves of the aloe, which they called ,„^^u,y. 
 Out of this was made a species of paper resembling the E%p. 
 t.an papyrus, which, when properly dressed, resembled parch- 
 ment. Some of these manuscripts, still extant, show their 
 
original brilliant colors. The numbers existing at the time of 
 the conquest were very large, especially in Tezcuco, the most 
 cultivated of the Aztec citits, but, owing to the fanaticism of 
 the Spanish priests, large numbers of these works were col- 
 lected and piled up in a " mountain heap," and reduced to 
 ashes. 
 
 A few of the Mexican manuscripts have found their way 
 to Europe, and are carefully preserved in public libraries and 
 museums. The most valuable of them is known as the Men- 
 doza Codex, or Mendoza Manuscript, which is now in the 
 Bodleian Library at Oxford, England, and is claimed to be 
 veritable Aztec work. Its importance is due to the light it 
 gives of the history of the nation, the tributes paid by the 
 various cities, and the domestic economy of the Aztecs. It 
 may be of interest to note that this manuscript has had a most 
 eventful history. It was sent, shortly after the conquest, by 
 the Viceroy Mendoza as a present to Charles the Fifth, but 
 the vessel that was conveying it was captured by a French 
 cruiser, and the manuscript taken to Paris, where it was pur- 
 chased by the chaplain of the English legation, who doubt- 
 less recognized its great value. The most important of these 
 Mexican manuscripts extant have been brought together in 
 the valuable work of Lord Kingsborough, who gives both a 
 Spanish and English interpretation of them. 
 
 The Aztecs were well advanced in agriculture, and all but the 
 great nobles and soldiers were engaged in cultivating the soil. 
 The chief toil was done by the men, but the women performed 
 the lighter work, such as sowing the seed, husking the corn, and 
 similar duties. 
 
 In connection with the resources of the country and the 
 supplies which it was capable of furnishing, I add what the 
 conquerors saw on their first visit to the grand square of Mex- 
 ico. This is given at some length. They were astonished at 
 the crowds of people, and at the amount of merchandise that 
 was collected and for sale, and all arranged with such great reg- 
 ularity. They note some of the articles, such as gold, silver, 
 feathers, mantles, chocolate, and various kinds of skins, dressed 
 and undressed. At some places in the square, women sold 
 fresh fish, and at other points there were collections of earthen 
 
19 
 
 ware and wooden household furniture, for sale. The meat- 
 market was stocked with fowls, game, and dogs, vegetables and 
 fruit, and articles of food already prepared. Sweet pastry was 
 also sold, and around the sides of the great square, under 
 piazzas, were stored large quantities of grain, and there were, 
 besides, shops for the sale of various kinds of goods. The 
 noise and bustle attending this barter and trading could be 
 heard at a long distance, and several of the Spaniards, who had 
 been at Constantinople and Rome, said, "that for convenience 
 and regularity they had never seen the like." 
 
 We know they were well skilled in irrigation, and their 
 irrigating ditches attested that they never made the attempt of 
 forcing water to run up-hill, as has been found in some of the 
 improperly constructed ditches of the mining regions of our 
 country. The City of Mexico was supplied with fresh water 
 from Chapultepec and beyond, by much the same system as 
 at the present day, as the conquerors state that, on entering 
 the city, *' they saw the aqueduct of Chapultepec from the 
 top of the great temple." 
 
 One of the important articles which we owe to Mexico is 
 the cacao, the fruit of which furnishes the chocolate, and takes 
 its name from the Mexican word chocalat/,^x\d which is now so 
 extensively grown throughout the West Indies. In its manu- 
 factured form it furnishes the mildest and one of the most 
 healthful beverages of the day. It is a little singular that this 
 article should have found its way into England about the same 
 date as tea and coffee — viz., about the year 1650 — tea having 
 been brought by the Dutch from China, and coffee introduced 
 from Abyssinia by way of Constantinople. 
 
 But the great staple of the country was Indian corn, and 
 the Aztecs were as skilful in its preparation as any of the 
 cooks of more modern times. All of us who took part in the 
 second conquest can well recall the groups of market-women 
 who established themselves in various sections of the Mexican 
 capital, and in the early morning sold, especially to the laboring 
 class, the thin corn-cakes called tortillas, together with chili 
 Colorado con carne, or, to translate, corn cakes with meat and 
 red peppers. 
 
 The maguey, or agave Americana, entered very largely into 
 
20 
 
 their agricultural products, as before noted ; its leaves furnished 
 a paste from which paper was made ; its juice, when fermented, 
 became an intoxicating beverage of which the natives of the 
 present day are very fond, and I have seen in recent years 
 entire train loads of it, in casks, being transported into the 
 Cit)' of Mexico. 
 
 The process of gathering the juice of the maguey, or cen- 
 tury plant, is noticeable, and as I often saw the Mexicans 
 about Tacubya and in the vicinity of the bloody battlefield of 
 Molino del Rey engaged in this work, I venture to give their 
 method. In the first place, the central stalk of the plant is. 
 cut off, and a cavity hollowed in the receptacle, or central part 
 of the plant ; into this the juice from the other stalks or fatty 
 leaves flows. The native, provided with a cured pigskin, 
 which is held in a netted bag, with a long, hollow gourd 
 sucks the juice from the cavity, and, applying his finger to the 
 lower end of the gourd to prevent the juice from running out, 
 turns the juice into the pigskin, covers over the cavity in the 
 plant to prevent the dirt getting into it, and then goes on to 
 the next. In many instances these plants form the hedges 
 of the various fields; in others they are planted in regular rows 
 and the entire field taken up by them. 
 
 The juice of this plant when first collected has a sweetish 
 taste, but does not possess any stimulating qualities. In a 
 short time, however, it undergoes fermentation, when it ac- 
 quires sufficient alcohol to produce intoxication. When dis- 
 tilled it becomes a fiery liquor that we found had a most 
 hurtful effect upon our soldiers. The Mexicans call this liquor 
 mescal, but our men soon gave it the name of rascal, which 
 tersely describes its injurious effects upon the brain. 
 
 Prior to the introduction of railways, this article reached the 
 capital in hogskins transported on the backs of mules or 
 donkeys. The latter very hardy and useful animal was greatly in 
 use at the time General Scott conquered the country, and as 
 an exemplification of their endurance, Ulysses S. Grant, at that 
 time lieutenant and regimental quartermaster of the Fourth 
 Infantry, told me that he had seen a heavily loaded army 
 wagon accidentally run over one of these animals, which was 
 lying down with its pack on, and that, after being assisted up 
 
21 
 
 and unloaded, it merely shook itself and began munching the 
 grass near at hand. 
 
 Of the other uses to which the maguey was applied, its 
 leaves furnished an excellent thatch for the cabins of the 
 humbler class ; a thread was produced from its strong fibre and 
 made into a coarse cloth ; pins and needles were made from the 
 thorns at the ends of its leaves ; and the root, when properly 
 cooked, became a nutritious and palatable vegetable. 
 
 The Aztecs understood the art of making bronze, and from 
 it fashioned tools for the working of the hardest minerals, and 
 their sculptured images were so numerous that even at the 
 present day numbers are found in different parts of the em- 
 pire. Two good specimens of their work in bas-relief, one of 
 the last Montezuma and the other of his father, were cut in 
 the solid rock at the groves at Chapultepec and were standing 
 as late as 1754. But the most remarkable piece of sculptured 
 work is the great calendar stone, which was dug up in 1790 and 
 is now built into the lower wall of the cathedral in the City 
 of Mexico. From it is learned that the Aztecs could fix the 
 hours of the day as well as the solstices and equinoxes ; and 
 also the passage 'of the sun across the meridian of Mexico, 
 
 I have alread}^ spoken of some of the articles produced 
 through their handiwork. The art in which they most ex- 
 celled was plmnaje, or feather-work, the rich plumage of the 
 tropical birds furnishing material for fashioning the most ex- 
 quisite patterns, which were pasted on fine cotton web and 
 made into dresses for the wealthy class. Specimens of these 
 fabrics, which were sent to Europe by the conquerors, excited 
 more admiration than any other articles coming from the New 
 World. An aged Aztec chief's advice to his son shows that 
 trade was honorable and highly esteemed ; I quote it: "Apply 
 thyself, my son, to agriculture, or to feather-work, or some 
 other honorable calling. Thus did your ancestors before you, 
 else how would they have provided for themselves and their 
 families? Never was it heard that nobility alone was able to 
 maintain its possessor." 
 
 In their domestic life and manners they exhibited a degree 
 of refinement and elegance unlooked for in a rude people. The 
 women, alike with the men, shared in their social entertain- 
 
22 
 
 ments and festivities, which were often on a large scale. The 
 halls were scented with perfumes and the courts filled with 
 fragrant flowers, which were distributed among the guests as 
 they arrived, and napkins and urns of water were set before 
 them just before and after eating. Tobacco was used at the 
 end of the feast, as at the present day ; the Aztecs called it 
 yetl. The word tobacco, it may be mentioned, is of Haytian 
 origin and was spelled tabacco. 
 
 Game, especially the turkey, v/as largely used at their repasts. 
 At the time of the conquest the Spaniards saw large numbers 
 of these birds in a domesticated state among the Aztecs, and, 
 as we have before noted, they formed one of the staple articles 
 in the payment of taxes in kind. By Europeans it has been 
 thought that, owing to its name, the turkey came from the 
 East, but we all know that on the settlement of this continent 
 the bird was found distributed from the northern part of the 
 United States to Panama. Benjamin Franklin gave it the 
 preference to the bald eagle as our national emblem, and I 
 am disposed to agree with him. I must speak in this con- 
 nection of an incident in our Mexican War that was at least 
 amusing. During the fighting in the streets of the City 
 of Mexico a recruit came across a turkey buzzard, which he 
 shot, thinking he had secured a real turkey, and with the bird 
 attached to his belt wandered into the College of Mines. 
 When the students saw him they were immensely amused and 
 burst into an uproar of laughter. 
 
 Bernal Diaz, in his account of the household and daily 
 life of Montezuma, describes at some length one of his re- 
 pasts, and says: "The ordinary meats were domestic fowls, 
 pheasants, geese, partridges, quails, venison, Indian hogs, 
 pigeons, hares, rabbits, and many other birds and animals 
 common to the country, and his cooks possessed the art of 
 serving them in thirty different modes. Fruit of various kinds 
 was placed before the emperor, and, as an after-course, a 
 stimulating liquor prepared from cocoa was served. 
 
 " The repast was varied by the introduction of singers and 
 dancers, and also certain hump-backed and deformed Indians, 
 who played tricks and made jests. This was followed by a 
 few whiffs from little reeds containing- a mixture of amber and 
 
23 
 
 tobacco, and then a short siesta." The numbers of his guards 
 and domestics that were served after the emperor exceeded 
 one thousand, and the household of women and inferior ser- 
 vants that were fed was prodigious. Pulque formed one of 
 the beverages of these repasts, but was chiefly indulged in by 
 the older men. Intoxication was severely punished when it 
 occurred among the young men at the feast. 
 
 As an erroneous impression seems to obtain among some as 
 to the physical aspect of the Aztecs at the time of the con- 
 quest, I give what I have gathered from the earliest writers. 
 In many instances the persons of the chief men are described, 
 and in most cases they are represented as tall of stature, strong 
 and well proportioned, and with broad faces. Montezuma is 
 reported of good stature and possessing what old Fuller 
 quaintly calls a " handsome man-case," and with a fairer 
 complexion than most Indians; he wore short hair just cov- 
 ering his ears, and his beard was black but thin ; his face is 
 described as long, and his features combined both gravity 
 and good humor. "Guatimotzin, his successor, was of noble 
 appearance both in person and countenance ; his features large 
 and cheerful, eyes lively, and complexion very fair for an 
 Indian. His wife was a niece of Montezuma, and was young 
 and very handsome," I can testify to the physical condition 
 of the descendants of the Aztecs in 1847; ^ov many of them 
 were remarkable as bearers or porters, and would come into 
 the City of Mexico, from miles away, with a pack or load upon 
 their backs which astonished most of us. 
 
 This is a brief outline of the laws, arts, customs, and usages of 
 this remarkable people, which I have gathered from Prescott, 
 Bernal Diaz, and other writers; a nation which, while inferior 
 to the Tezcucans, their near neighbors, in intellectual culture 
 and social refinement, was composed of a hardy and warlike 
 people, who, from rude beginnings, in the course of two cen- 
 turies extended their empire from the Valley of Mexico to 
 the Gulf on the east, and to Honduras and Guatemala on the 
 south. All this was not effected unaided, as they formed with 
 their neighbors, the Tezcucans and Tlacopans, that remarkable 
 alliance which has no parallel in history. In this agreement 
 it was stipulated that the nations above named should support 
 
24 
 
 each other in their wars, oiTensive and defensive, and that in 
 the distribution of the spoil one-fifth should be given the 
 Tlacopans, and the remainder divided among the other 
 powers; and during the century of continuous warfare that 
 ensued, no instance is related where the parties quarrelled over 
 the division of the spoil. 
 
 In closing this hurried account of the Aztecs, I cannot avoid 
 expressing my great satisfaction, and I am sure I but echo 
 your own, to the promoters of this Club, who chose so appro- 
 priately the name of a people who had made such great prog- 
 ress in manufactures and art, and who ruled so wisely and dis- 
 creetly as to raise themselves far above the North American 
 Indian, and almost to a level with the nations of the far East. 
 If to this be added the brilliant military records of so many 
 of our past and present members, surely have we reason to 
 glory in being Aztecs. 
 
 . At the close of Colonel Floyd-Jones's address, Professor 
 Henry Coppee, of the Lehigh University, an original member 
 of the Club, was called upon to answer, which he did in the 
 following happy manner : 
 
 Friends and Comrades : 
 
 When Davy Jones* — I beg his pardon, I mean Colonel De 
 Lancey Floyd-Jones — wrote that address, he didn't mean the 
 person who was to answer it to have much chance ; he has 
 used all the thunder and covered the field with teocalli ruins. 
 So when Fitz-John Porter — I beg his pardon, too, I mean 
 General Porter, our President — selected me to answer him he 
 may have thought he was doing me an honor and a kindness ; 
 but, I dare say, many of the fellows present are very glad that 
 he did not ask them ; and yet, Mr. President, there is some- 
 thing to be said, and I do esteem it a pleasure and an honor to 
 respond. 
 
 There is such a thing as eloquent silence, and this beautiful 
 centre-piece, considered as a memento, speaks for itself more 
 effectively than any poor words of mine. The old ruin sug- 
 
 * Davy Jones was Colonel Floyd-Jones's nickname at the United States Military 
 Academy. 
 
25 
 
 gests the days of Cortez, Bernal Diaz, and Alvarado of the 
 Leap. The royal palm growing out of its ruined top calls us 
 back to the time when its spreading leaves made tessellations 
 of shade in the charming moonlight, only broken by the sil- 
 houettes of the lovely successors of the Aztec maidens and the 
 glamour of tropical love-making. 
 
 The maguey clustered at its base makes one long {ox pul- 
 que, whether in redolent pigskins or in bottles. I repeat, Mr. 
 President, our friend Floyd-Jones has covered himself with 
 pride and glory. Being of a jealous disposition, I envy him 
 the sentiments which led to this present, and the great satis- 
 faction, which I am sure we can all see by his smiles, he is ex- 
 periencing in our reception of it. I think that we ought to 
 sing, " He's a Jolly Good Fellow," and give him three times 
 three — but not, if you please, until I get through. That I am 
 just about to do, however. Let me gravely point him out to 
 our younger members as an excellent example. Young gentle- 
 men, we want but one Aztec pyramid, and we now have it, 
 with the proud knowledge that there is not another like it in 
 this country ; but if any one desires to present a silver punch- 
 bowl or a loving cup, or some other silver token and souvenir, 
 the Aztec Club of 1847 is by no means arrogant, but will ac- 
 cept such gracious gifts with becoming recognition, and use 
 them with generous bumpers. Mr. President, in the language 
 of Spanish orators, " I have said." " He dicJio ! " 
 
 To the toast, "The Younger Members of the Aztec Club," 
 Mr. Graham Frost, of St. Louis, responded, and made an 
 admirable speech, which was greatly applauded. This was fol- 
 lowed by brief remarks from Mr. J. Watts Kearney and Mr. 
 Charles Riddle, both of whom spoke of 'the interest which the 
 younger comrades of the Club have in its present success and 
 in* its perpetuity, sentiments which were warmly received 
 General Tower responded to the toast " To General Winfield 
 Scott," and gave some very interesting incidents connected 
 with the battles in the Valley of Mexico, closing with a hand- 
 some tribute to the great commander and cultured gentleman. 
 Colonel Thomas Y. Field, of the Marine Corps, made some 
 entertaining remarks on the attack on the Belen and San 
 
26 
 
 Cosmo gates, and concluded with a very high trihiute to the 
 Aztec Club as viewed from his standpoint. Admiral Rhind, 
 in some short remarks, spoke of the part taken by the navy 
 and Marine Corps in the conquest of Mexico, and indicated 
 by his vigorous language that he is fully of the opinion that 
 the marines are worthy of all praise in their past and present 
 faithful work. Brief speeches were also made by Generals 
 Porter, Frost, and Van Vliet, and the guests, after singing 
 several stanzas of *' Benny Havens, Oh," gradually dispersed, 
 feeling that the evening had been a most enjoyable one, and 
 looking forward with interest to another equally pleasant 
 meeting, with full ranks, in October, 1893. 
 
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