GARDENS OF ANCIENT MEXICO NUTTALL 455 



hares, foxes, wolves, and other similar animals which the Mexican lords 

 hunted much and very often. 



Cervantes de Salazar also gives a description of a hunt that the 

 Mexican ruler watched from his richly adorned litter which rested 

 meanwhile on the shoulders of its bearers. It was no doubt thus 

 that he was often carried from his summer palace at the base of the 

 hill of Chapultepec, which was surrounded by a grove of beauti- 

 ful " ahuehuetes " or swamp cypress, past the bas-relief portraits 

 of himself and his predecessors, carved on the rocks, up a broad, 

 winding flight of steps to its summit. From this he could com- 

 mand a panoramic view of incomparable beauty embracing the whole 

 valley of Mexico with its lakes and the snow-capped volcanoes 

 beyond. In 1554 Salazar, in his " Dialogues," relates that on the 

 top of the hill Montezuma had cultivated trees as though it were 

 a garden and that on its steep sides were terraces with other 

 groves of trees and hanging gardens. He explains the choice of 

 such a site for the cultivation of ornamental trees and flowers with 

 the dictum that " Indians preferred hills to plains " ; but an im- 

 portant reason was doubtless that the native gardeners had learnt 

 from long experience that many plants thrive best among rocks 

 which not only preserve moisture but also the heat of the sun, which 

 counteracts the chilliness of the night temperature in this high 

 altitude. 



The fact, however, that not only Montezuma but, as we shall see, 

 the Lord of Texcoco and the Tarascan rulers built their pleasure 

 gardens on high hills commanding admirable views indicates that 

 they had a fine taste and a true love of nature in all of its mani- 

 festations. In this connection it is interesting to recall here that 

 being a high priest as well as "king," it was one of Montezuma's 

 duties to " arise at midnight to observe the north star and its 

 wheel" (the revolving circumpolar constellations), also the Plei- 

 ades and other constellations. From their hill gardens the ancient 

 astronomer priests and rulers of Mexico no doubt often contem- 

 plated the heavens, watching for the periodical reappearance of 

 the planets and particularly of the planet Venus, which was 

 celebrated by a solemn festival. 



There is a deep pathos in the fact that during his captivity 

 Montezuma several times besought Cortes to give him permission 

 to visit those of his pleasances which were situated within 1 or 2 

 leagues of his capital, which naturally included the hill garden of 

 Chapultepec. The Conqueror wrote to his Emperor that the per- 

 mission was never denied; that Montezuma went accompanied by a 

 number of his nobles and lords whom he entertained with banquets 

 and feasting and that he always returned " very gaily and con- 

 tentedly " to the apartment assigned to him by his captor — an asser- 



