212 AZTALAN. 



branch of Rock River, and were discovered in 1836 by N. F. 

 Hyer, Esq., who surveyed them hastily, and published a 

 brief description, with a figure, in the " Milwaukie Adver- 

 tiser." In " Silliman's American Journal," No. XLIY., is a 

 paper on the subject by Mr. Taylor, from which was derived 

 the plan and the short account given by Messrs. Squier 

 and Davis.* The most complete description is contained in 

 Mr. Lapham's "Antiquities of Wisconsin" f The name 

 " Aztalan" was given to this place by Mr. Hyer, because the 

 Aztecs had a tradition that they originally came from a 

 country to the north, which they called Aztalan. It is said 

 to be derived from two Mexican words, Atl, water, and An, 

 near. " The main feature of these works is an enclosure of 

 earth (not brick, as has been erroneously stated), extending 

 around fhree sides of an irregular parallelogram ; " the river 

 " forming the fourth side on the east. The space thus en- 

 closed contains seventeen acres and two-thirds. The corners 

 are not rectangular, and the embankment or ridge is not 

 straight." "The ridge forming the enclosure is 631 feet 

 long at the north end, 1419 feet long on the west side, and 

 700 feet on the south side ; making a total length of wall of 

 2750 feet. The ridge or wall is about 22 feet wide, and 

 from one foot to five in height. The wall of earth is en- 

 larged on the outside, at nearly regular distances, by mounds 

 of the same material. They are called buttresses, or bas- 

 tions ; but it is quite clear that they were never intended for 

 either" the one or the other. They vary from sixty-one 

 to ninety-five feet apart, the mean distance being eighty-two 

 feet. Near the south-west angle are two outworks, con- 

 structed in the same way as the main embankment. 



In many places the earth forming the walls appears to 

 have been burnt. " Irregular masses of hard reddish clay, 

 fall of cavities, bear distinct impressions of straw, or rather 

 * i.e. p. 131. t P. 41. 



