ABOEIGINAL AMERICAN POETEY. 23 



On that day, the tender leaf is destroyed, 

 On that day, the dying eyes are closed, 

 On that day, three signs are on the tree, 

 On that day, three generations hang there, 

 On that day, the battle-flag is raised, 

 And thej' are scattered tar in the forests." 



Another of such prophecies is entitled " The Word of the Lord Pech, the Priest " — this 

 is said to be the same name that is met with in Kin-Pech, or Campeachy — and, like other 

 predictions, is not very intelligible. It runs thus : — 



" At that time it will be well to know the tidings of the Lord, the ruler of the world." 



" After four katuns, 



"Then will occur the bringing of the truth. At that time, one who is a god by his name, I 

 deliver to you as a lord. 



" Be your ej-es on the road for your guest, men of Itza, 



"When the lord of the earth shall come. 



"The word of the first loi'd Pech, the priest, at the time of the fourth katun, at the end of the 

 katun." 



These prophecies, Dr. Briuton thinks, are the originals, or echoes of the mystic songs 

 of the priests of Cuculcan and Itzamna, deities who are supposed to inspire their devotees 

 with the power of foretelling the future. 



The Quiche " Gucvimatz " of the Popol Vuh, has the same meaning as the Aztec culture 

 hero, " Quetzalcoatl," the " Feathered Serpent." However we interpret it, the story of 

 Quetzalcoatl is one of the strangest and most interesting connected with prehistoric America. 

 He stands, like a mysterious figure, placed on an eminence, and seen from all directions, 

 pointing backw^ard to the dim past, and forward to the unknown future. Deity or man, or 

 mere allegory, the Plumed Serpent is associated with a great change in the fortunes of 

 the land of Anahuac. To some commentators, indeed, his adventures, trials and triumphs 

 constitute nothing more nor less than a solar myth. To others he is the head of an expedi- 

 tion from the distant east, the place of his origin being a point of manifold conjecture. The 

 Toltecs, who preceded the Aztecs, were themselves preceded by a number of nations, such 

 as the Quinames, the Miztecs, the Zapotecs, and the Olmecs. It was during the rule of 

 these last that Quetzalcoatl is said to have made his appearance. The traditions with 

 which he is associated have undoubtedly been affected by the modifications of Christian 

 writers, and it would be no easy task to separate what is purely aboriginal from the mass 

 of intrusive fabrication with which it is interfused. Besides, any such attempt would 

 pertain rather to the province of historical research than to the more humble but, I hope, 

 not unimportant inc[uiry on which I am engaged. It is not alien to that incjuiry that, as 

 we learn from Prescott, " the traditions of the country were embodied in the songs and 

 hymns which . . . were carefully taught in the public schools. These were various, 

 embracing the mythic legends of an heroic age, the warlike achievements of their own, or 

 the softer tales of love and pleasure. Many of them were composed by scholars and 

 persons of rank, and are cited as affording the most authentic record of events. The 

 Mexican dialect was rich and expressive, though inferior to the Tezcucan, the most 



