found dead in the corner of the street, sitting in the same melancholy posture; that the Viceroy declared his wealth crown property, and with the intention of striking terror into the hearts of the malecontents, caused a stone statue to be made representing the weeping Indian; that this statue was placed at the corner of the street, with its back to the wall, and so remained until the house, being pulled down, the statue was sent to the Museum, where it now is; the street retaining the name of the Sad Indian.
But there is another tradition mentioned concerning the origin of the name, more interesting and even more probable. It appears that the ground now occupied by this street is the site of the Palace of Axayacatl, the father of Montezuma, last Emperor of Mexico. In this spacious and magnificent palace the Spaniards were received and lodged, and, according to Torquemada, each in a separate apartment. There were a multitude of idols in this dwelling, and though they had no separate temple, various feasts were dedicated to them. After the conquest they were for the most part broken and destroyed, and it was only lately that, by accident, the head of the god of the waters, beautifully worked in serpentine marble, was discovered there; still, one statue had been preserved, that of an Indian, said to have been placed there by the Aztecs, as a memorial of their sorrow at the death of Montezuma, to whom, on account of his misfortunes, they gave the name of "el Indio triste." This was afterwards placed at the corner of the new building erected there by the Spaniards, and gave its name to the street. It is a
