Conquest of Mexico
Page 316 (4).—Gomara, Crónica, cap. 62. "Etna, proclaiming eternally the victory over the Giants, the tomb of Enceladus, who, wounded in the back and fettered, exhales from his fiery breast unquenched sulphur."—Claudian, De Rapt. Pros., lib. 1, v. 152.
Page 317 (1).—The old Spaniards called any lofty mountain by that name, though never having given signs of combustion. Thus, Chimborazo was called a volcan de nieve, or "snow volcano" (Humboldt, Essai Politique, tom. i. p. 162); and that enterprising traveller, Stephens, notices the volcan de agua, "water volcano," in the neighbourhood of Antigua Guatemala.—Incidents of Travel in Chiapas, Central America, and Yucatan (New York, 1841), vol. i. chap. 13.
Page 317 (2).—Mont Blanc, according to M. de Saussure, is 15,670 feet high. For the estimate of Popocatepetl, see an elaborate communication in the Regista Mexicana, tom. ii. No. 4.
Page 318 (1).—Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 70.—Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.—Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 78. The latter writer speaks of the ascent as made when the army lay at Tlascala, and of the attempt as perfectly successful. The general's letter, written soon after the event, with no motive for mis-statement, is the better authority.—See also Herrera, Hist. General, dec 2, lib. 6, cap. 18.—Rel. d'un gent., ap. Ramusio, tom. iii. p. 308.—Gomara, Crónica, cap. 62.
Page 319 (1).—Rel. Ter. y Quarta de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, pp. 318, 380.—Herrera, Hist. General, dec 3, lib. 3, cap. i.—Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 41. M. de Humboldt doubts the fact of Montaño's descent into the crater, thinking it more probable that he obtained the sulphur through some lateral crevice in the mountain. (Essai Politique, tom. i. p. 164.) No attempt—at least, no successful one—has been made to gain the summit of Popocatepetl, since this of Montaño, till the present century. In 1827 it was reached in two expeditions, and again in 1833 and 1834. A very full account of the last, containing many interesting details and scientific observations, was written by Federico de Gerolt, one of the party, and published in the periodical already referred to. (Revista Mexicana, tom. i. pp. 461-482.) The party from the topmost peak, which commanded a full view of the less elevated Iztaccihuatl, saw no vestige of a crater in that mountain, contrary to the opinion usually received.
Page 319 (2).—Humboldt, Essai Politique, tom. iv. p. 17.
Page 321 (1).—The lake of Tezcuco, on which stood the capital of Mexico, is 2277 metres, nearly 7500 feet, above the sea.—Humboldt, Essai Politique, tom. ii. p. 45.
Page 321 (2).—It is unnecessary to refer to the pages of modern travellers, who, however they may differ in taste, talent, or feeling, all concur in the impressions produced on them by the sight of this beautiful valley.
Page 322 (1).—Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., lib. 4, cap. 41. It may call to the reader's mind the memorable view of the fair plains of Italy which Hannibal displayed to his hungry barbarians, after a similar march through the wild passes of the Alps, as reported by the prince of historic painters.—Livy, Hist., lib. 21, cap. 35.
Page 322 (2).—Torquemada, Monarch. Ind., ubi supra.—Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. 3.—Gomara, Crónica, cap. 64.—Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.
Page 323 (1).—A load for a Mexican tamane was about fifty pounds, or eight hundred ounces.— Clavigero, Stor. del Messico, tom. iii. p. 69, nota.
Page 323 (2).—Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva España, MS., lib. 12, cap. 12.—Rel. Seg. de Cortés, ap. Lorenzana, p. 73.—Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 2, lib. 7, cap. 3.—Gomara, Crónica, cap. 64.—Oviedo, Hist. de las Ind., MS., lib. 33, cap. 5.—Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 87.
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