At times it has seemed that no good could emerge from such opposing elements; yet nature has furnished to Mexico material for a long siege; broad territory with a faultless climate, mountains rich in every mineral resource, valleys well adapted for cultivation and grazing, a land where every industry may, under a stable government, be pursued with success. The character of the descendant of the Aztecs is mild and docile, capable, as many people think, of high development by education; such bad qualities as Mexicans have developed from Spanish inheritance are, it is hoped, giving way before the progress of civilization and education.
The past of the people who live upon Anahuac is wrapped in mystery. So is their future. Both are interesting problems, to be worked out from the legends of old time, and the narrative of the present.
Anahuac means "by the water." It is the ancient name for the great tract of land surrounding the lakes in the lofty valley of Mexico,--Chalco and Xochimilco, which are but one lake, properly speaking, the large Lake of Texcuco, and the smaller ones Zumpango and San Christobal. At first the name Anahuac was applied only to the neighborhood of the lakes, but later it came to be applied to the whole plateau.
The Conquistadores, according to their own glowing account, found upon the shores of these lakes a busy population, with all the evidences of industry and prosperity. Temples, erected for worship, containing the images of strange gods, stood in the lofty places. Their monarch lived in a palace of luxury, surrounded by his guards; he controlled a large army, which did battle for him against his enemies. His swift-footed messengers, without steam, without even horses, did his bidding even to the shores of the distant sea. Without printing, or telegraph, he received prompt information of distant events by pictures made on the spot by his special artist. Here was a civilization which had received nothing from the courts of Europe, whose forms and ceremonies, while as rigid and as grand, borrowed nothing from the traditions of the royal house of Spain.
Whence came this proud people which had conquered for itself a place in that valley of the perfect climate?