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CKAPTER Y. 



THE EISE AND FALL OP PUEBLO INDLIN POWER IN NOETHEEN" 



MEXICO. 



The Pueblo Indians 

 New Mexico.— 



source 



that valley from the North. — They found populous towns. — The Spaniards 

 subdue and enslave them. — They rebel and are reconquered. — Spanish 



Grants. 



A^itecs 



'uin 



iry. — Conclusion 



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LooEiNG at the question of the rise and fall of Pneblo 

 Indian power in 'New Mexico and Arizona from a geograpMcal 

 as well as an historical point of view, I have come to the fol- 

 lowing conclusions respecting it; but in expressing these 

 views I do not bind myself very closely to them, for I think 

 it quite probable that far more light may some day be thrown 

 upon this interesting subject by others, who will be able to 

 bridge over many gaps in the evidence which now form 

 almost impassable barriers to a complete line of argument. 



These town-building Indians, I consider, were the skirmish 

 line of the Aztec race, when that race was united and in the 

 plenitude of its power. They came origiaally from the 

 southern provinces of Mexico, probably in separate detach- 

 ments — the restless spirits of semi-civilised tribes, speaking 

 distinct dialects, although more or less united under one 

 central government ; and they tried, with all the skill brought 

 from Anahuac and the southern provinces of Mexico, to 

 colonise the outlying countries to the northward. The route 

 taken by these Aztec pioneers was probably that which 

 the physical geography of the country naturally suggests. 



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