INDIAN PICTURE-WRITING.
"And here is a good place," said Fred, "to make some notes about the Aztecs. Properly speaking, they were only one of the tribes or nations that occupied the plateau of Anahuac, or Mexico, at the time of the Conquest by Cortez. They migrated from the north, the aggregate time consumed in their migrations being nearly 200 years, and finally settled in the Valley of Mexico, at a spot where they saw an eagle sitting on a cactus and with a snake in his beak. This eagle and cactus have been adopted as the symbol of Mexico, and are seen on the national flag and on the coins.
TENOCHTITLAN, A.D. 1517.
"The Aztecs found the valley occupied by the Toltecs, who had been there for several centuries. They made war on the Toltecs, took possession of the country, and proceeded to build a city on the site of the present capital. It was called Tenochtitlan ('cactus on a stone'), and the foundations were laid about a.d. 1324. Lake Tezcoco was then much higher than it is now, and the new city was surrounded by water, and greatly resembled Venice in the abundance of its canals. It could only be approached on narrow causeways, and there was a fleet of boats on the lakes which prevented attack by water. With this stronghold as a base, the Aztecs gradually conquered all the surrounding people, so that they had possession of the entire valley at the time of the arrival of Cortez.
FIRST CAVALRY CHARGE BY CORTEZ.
"One of the tribes of the Aztecs was called Mexicans, from Mexi, their chief. This tribe seems to have become more powerful than the rest, though originally it ranked as the seventh. It gave the name to the whole people, and from the people the name passed to the country.