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There are sufficient remains of Aztec temples left to show that they were plain in construction, of pyramidal form, without towers, and that their altars were erected on the summits in the open air, surrounded by broad platforms. This pyramid was dedicated to the benevolent god Quetzalcoatl, "the great, good, and fair god of the Aztecs."
Both men were accoutred in the fashion which the pictured records show was usual with the Aztec warriors, and one of them as was indicated by his head-dress and by the metal corselet that he wore was a chief; and they challenged us sharply, yet with gladness in their tones, in the Aztec tongue.
I told them frankly the whole story: of my strange adventure in the Indian village, of the paper and the gold token which the Cacique unwittingly had given me, of the letter that Fray Antonio had found, and of how our joint discoveries set us clearly in the way of finding an Aztec community that certainly had existed unchanged, save for such changes as had been developed within itself, since a time long anterior to the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
In architecture, the jacal in which they sat satisfied his ideals. The footsteps of a horse interrupted their conversation. A few moments later, Tiburcio, the hunter, was introduced to the two Americans with a profusion of politeness. There was nothing above the ordinary in the old hunter, except his hair, eyes, and swarthy complexion, which indicated his Aztec ancestry.
It was after supper, when, the letter having been posted, that Tom, his father and Mr. Damon were discussing the city of gold. "Will you go, even if Mr. Illingway can't send a better map?" asked Mr. Damon. "Sure" exclaimed Tom. "I want to get one of the golden images if I have to hunt all over the Aztec country for it."
The outer wall which surrounds the whole is very thick, and the entire building is built of mud bricks baked in the sun, and has no upper storey at all. It is a Pompeian house on a large scale, and suits the climate perfectly. The Aztec palaces we read so much of were built in just the same way. The roofs slope inwards from the sides of the quadrangle, and drain into the open space in the middle.
With a handful of followers Cortes overthrew the fabric of the Aztec Empire, broke the spirit of its people so effectually that to this day it has not recovered itself, and swept away its religion. Whether for good or evil this was a stupendous achievement and one that must make his name immortal. By J. T. TROWBRIDGE
We are told that the great Aztec temple was surrounded by walls having four gates fronting the four cardinal points, and that within the enclosure were five hundred dwellings accommodating the priests and priestesses, and others who were devoted to religious dances and devotional ceremonies connected with the worship and service of the idols.
Like the old Captain, the youth had felt some awe of the richly-bedecked young girl who had displayed to such advantage the stunning and wonderful old jewelry that had once adorned Spanish señoras or Aztec princesses. Despite the fact that he disapproved of such a barbarous display, Pratt had been impressed.
Now Otomie had been allowed to walk in the camp with her sister, the wife of Guatemoc, and other Aztec ladies, and she had this gift in common with most Indians, that where she had once passed there she could pass again, even in the darkest night. 'To the south gate, she whispered; 'perhaps it is unguarded now that the war is done, at the least I know the road thither.
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