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Show 176 nooK IV. --v- Rllc T. Vl. Mont 7.\1· maT. fi fth l< in.tr of Mex ico. H I 5 T 0 R y 0 F M E X I C 0. fi d . fc lf e abled to command thofe who had ruled over twclvt years oun 1t e 11 • Of r. 1 · 1. t an d n1e peo1 1e w1 1o thou<Yht themfelves greatly fupenor. !UC 1Im- b . b f · portance to t l1 c pro fip en· tY of a nation is the wtfdom and . ravcry .o tdts chief. At length in the year I436 of the vulgar era, ·1~ a ~cty ~ - d after a reign full of glory, the great Itzcoatl dted. a kmg ;a~~e af~ t d by the Mexicans for his iingular endowments, and JU y ce c r\la. de r. . . s he rendered them. He ferved the nation up-the uneq ua c 1CI v1c . . . [c wards of thirty years as general, and goven~ed .tl11rtecn as thc1~ ove- . Bcfides refcuing them from the fubJ chon of the Tep.mecas, retgn. . '1 f I Cl ·1 . ext ndin (}' their dominions, replacing the roy;tl famt yo t:1c lee 1eme-cas on tl~e throne of Acolh~1acan, enriching his c_ourt w.1th the p~under of conquered nations, and having laid, in the tnple alhancc whtch he formetl the foundation of their future greatnefs, he added to the noblcnefs an:i fplendor of the nation by many new edifices. After the conquefl: of uitlahuac he built, among others, a tem 1~le. to the ~odde~s Cibuczcoatl, and fome time afterwards another to Huztztlopochtlt. H u; ti.tneral was attended with unufual pomp and the greatefi demo~firations of grief, and his a1hes repo.led in the fame fepulchre with hts an-teftors. . The four eleCtors did not long deliberate 011 the choice of a new kmg; there being no furviving brother of the la~c fovereign, the eleCtion onfeqnently fdl on one of his grandfons; and no o!1e_app~arcd more_ defcrving th:m Montezuma llhuicamina, fon of Huttzllll~uJtl, not lcls on account of his perfonal virtues than the important ferv~ c cs he h~d done the nntion. He was eleCted with general applaufc, adviCe of whtch .be-· in t>· given to the two :tllied kings, they not only confirmed the eleCl:wn, bt~ pafied many praifcs on the clec:ted, and fcnt him prdl:nts worthy of bis rank and their ctl:ecm. After the ufua.l ceremonies and the congratu1ary fpeechcs of the priefl:s, the nobles, and the military, much rejoicing took pla e, with entertainments, balls, and illuminations. Befo re his coronati~m, either from an efiabliilied law of the country, or his own parti ·ular defire, he went to war with his enemies to make prifoners for :1 f:lcrifice on the occa!l.on. He refol vcd th at t h e~e .{h~uld be of the Chalchefe nation, to revenge the infults and the lllJUnous treatment he had received from them when returning from fezcuco, in the character of amb·~lfiador, he had been taken :m<l carri ·d to the priion H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. 177 prifon of Chalco. He went againfl: them therefore in perfon, defeated Boo rc rv. them, and made many prifoners; but did not then fubjcCl: the whole of 1....--v--1 that fl:ate to the crown·of Mexico, that he might not retard his coro-nation. ·On the day appointed for that folemnity the tributes and pre-funts which were fcnt to him from conquered places, were brought into Mexico. The king's major-domos and the receivers of the royal 1-evenues preceded, after whom came thofc who carried the prefents, who were divided into as many companies as there were people who fent them, and fo regular and orderly in their procGfTion as to afford in-finite pleafure to the fpeCl:ators. They brought gold, iilver, beautiful feathers, wearing apparel, great variety of game, and a va£1: quantity of provi fions. It is more than probable, although hiil:orians do not men-tion it, that the other two allied kings and many other firangers of difl:inCl:ion were prefent, befides a great concourfe of people from all th~ places in the vale of Mexico. As foon as Montezuma found himfelf on the throne, his .firil: care was to erect a great temple in that part of the city which they called liut't znabuac. The allied kings, whom he requefied to ailift him, furniihed him with fu h plenty of materials and workmen, that in a !hart time the building was :finia1ed and confecrated. During the time of its confiruetion the new war againft Chalco appears to have happened~ The Chalchefe befides the injuries which they had already done to Mon- SRcT. vrr. tezuma, provoked his indignation afrc{h by a cruel and barbarous act Atrociolls aCl de 1r. crvm· g t he cxccratw· n. o f a1 1 poufl.: en• ty. T wo of the royal pn.n ces o'f· cohfe thfce. Ch:ll· Tczcuco having gone a hunting ot'). the mount.1ins which overlook the pbins of halco, while employep in the chace and fepamted fi·om their rciilluc with only three Mexican lprds, fell in with ~ troop of Chal-chefc foldicrsJ who thinking they would pleafe the cr~el pa(iions of their mafter, made them prifoners and carried them to Ch;llco. The ftwage lord .of that city, who was probably the ii.1me Toteotzin by whonJ. Montczum\l had been fo ill treated, paying no regard ~o tl)e noble ran~ of the prifon9rs, nor dreading the fatal confequences of his inhuman refolntion, p.ut all the fiv.e infiantly to death; and that he might always be able to gratify his fight with a fpcc1:acle in which his cruelty delighted, he cauf~d their bodies to be G1lted and dried; and when they · were thus fufliciently prepared, he placed them in ;1 h~U of his houfc, VoJ-. 1. A a to ... |