On account of the mountain ranges and swiftness of the rivers the Aztecs had been obliged to establish numerous roads for transportation and communication. These, however, were very narrow, as they were foot paths, there being no horses or beasts of burden.

The country of Anáhuac was formed by the "Empire" of the Aztecs, the "Kingdoms" of Acolhuacán and Ttlacopan, the "Republics" of Ttlascala, Cholula, and Huexotzinco, and the "Seignory" of Meztitlán. It was bounded on the north by the lands of the barbarous Otomies, Utoncas, and Chichimecas; on the south by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by the provinces of Xoconochco and Quauhtemallán; on the east by the Gulf and by the provinces of Coatzacoalco; and on the west by the "Kingdom" of Michihuacán.

The highest peaks are the Popocatepetl (the fuming mountain, 17,852 feet); Iztaccihuatl (the white woman); the Citlatepetl (the shining mountain); and the Poyauhtecatl or Pico de Orizaba.

The rivers that flow into the Gulf are the Papaloapan (of the butterflies), and the Coatzacoalco (where the serpent is hidden). Into the Pacific flow the Tecuantepec, the Xopes, the Zacatolan, and the Tolototlán.

We have seen what was the country of the Aztecs when Hernán Cortés saw it for the first time. We shall now relate how the intrepid Spaniard succeeded in conquering Anáhuac.

CHAPTER II

BEGINNING OF THE CONQUEST

IN 1502 Columbus, on his fourth and last voyage, explored the coast of Honduras and attempted to found a settlement at Veragua, in Panama, and in 1513 Vasco Nuñez de Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean. The discovery and conquest of the land of the Aztecs by the Spaniards were now inevitable. In 1511 Diego Columbus sent Diego Velasquez from Española or Hispaniola to explore and conquer Cuba or Fernandina, which his celebrated father had discovered in 1492, and which, until his death, he had believed to be part of a continent. Velasquez easily conquered the island and declared himself independent from Diego Columbus, who had succeeded to the great Discoverer's title of Admiral.

A number of settlements were made in Cuba, and in 1517 Velasquez sent Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba to the neighboring islands on an expedition to procure Indian slaves. Córdoba was driven by storms from his course, and after three weeks he came to an unknown land which he called Punta de Catoche. The Indians were hostile, and the Spaniards, after coasting Yucatan as far as Campeche, Champoton and the river Estero de los Lagartos, returned to Cuba. Córdoba had not succeeded in his quest for slaves and had lost many of his men. He, himself, was wounded, and died shortly after his return.

The reports of Córdoba and the specimens of gold which he had brought back induced Velasquez to send another expedition to explore the country newly discovered. Four ships were fitted out, and the command of the expedition was given to Juan de Grijalva, a nephew of Velasquez. Pedro de Alvarado was one of the captains of Grijalva, and Antón Alaminos was his pilot, as he had been Córdoba's.

Grijalva visited again the places seen by Córdoba, and as he was better armed than the latter, he was able to resist the attacks of the Indians whom he met on the coast, and succeeded in trading with them. He obtained gold from the natives and sent it to Cuba in a caravel commanded by Alvarado. He, himself, returned to Matanzas in October, 1518, after having discovered several islands, among which was San Juan de Ulua, in the present harbor of Vera Cruz. Grijalva had followed the instructions given him by Velasquez, and had not endeavored to form a settlement in the country discovered by him. This displeased the governor of Cuba who entrusted the command of another expedition to Hernán Cortés. "Grijalva, however," says Prescott, "has the glory of being the first navigator who set foot on the Mexican soil and opened an intercourse with the Aztecs." He was modest and unassuming, and lacked the spirit of enterprise and self-confidence of Cortés, his illustrious suc

cessor.

Hernán Cortés was born at Medellín in Estremadura in 1485. His parents were of respectable but humble stock: his father, Martin Cortés y Monroy, was a captain of infantry, and his mother was Catalina Pizarro Altamirano. He was sent at fourteen to the University of Salamanca for the purpose of studying law later, but he preferred the life of an adventurer to that of a student, and left college after two years. He had acquired some knowledge of Latin, and had learned to write good prose, and even verses "of some estimation, considering"-as an old writer quaintly remarks "Cortés as the author." His letters relating his conquest are written with force and elegance.

After leaving Salamanca Cortés formed different plans for beginning a soldier's life, at one time thinking of enlisting in the army of the Great Captain, Gonzalvo de Cordova, at another of sailing for Hispaniola with the governor, Nicolás de Ovando. Finally, in 1504, at the age of nineteen, he left his native country and went to Hispaniola, where he led the life of a planter, taking part meanwhile in expeditions undertaken for suppressing Indian revolts, and receiving from Ovando the appointment of notary of a small town. He was one of the companions of Velasquez in the latter's expedition to Cuba and distinguished himself there, acquiring the friendship of the governor, who made him one of his secretaries. This friendship he lost by not keeping his promise of marrying Doña Catalina Xuárez, whose sister Velasquez was courting. He then joined a disaffected party and agreed to go to Hispaniola to lay their grievances before the higher authorities. He was imprisoned by the governor, succeeded in escaping, and later married Doña Catalina and was again in favor with Velasquez, who named him alcalde of Santiago.

Cortés had acquired some wealth by mining and stockraising when, in 1518, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the armada which Velasquez intended to send to explore more fully the country described by Córdoba and Alvarado and to go in search of Grijalva. The latter returned before the armada set sail but, as we have said, was not rewarded for his efforts, and took no part in the new expedition.

Cortés invested everything he had in the venture and received his instructions on October 23, 1518. These were to explore the country discovered by Córdoba, to restore to freedom the Spaniards who might have fallen into the power of the Indians, to attend to the conversion of the natives and to barter with them, and finally to "take the most careful care to omit nothing that might redound to the service of God or his sovereigns." This latter injunction might have been construed as permitting a conquest and settlement of the country, and Cortés, unlike Grijalva, was inclined to