299 



some dispersed families., who, restrained by the 

 love of their native soil, had not thought proper 

 to share the chances of the emigration. 



The annals of the Aztecks begin, according to 

 Gama, at an epocha corresponding to the year 

 1091 of our era; a period at which, by order of 

 their chief Chalchiuhtlatonac, they celebrated the 

 festival of the renewal of the fire at Tlalixco, 

 called also Acahualtzinco, situate probably under 

 the parallel of thirty-three or thirty-five north 

 latitude. It is only since the year 1091, in 

 which as the Indian historian Chimalpain ex- 

 pressly says, they tied for the first time the years 

 after their going forth from Aztlan, that Mexican 

 history presents the greatest order, and an asto ■ 

 nishing minuteness in the recital of events. 



Conformably to what we have hitherto stated 

 of the reckoning of the Sun, and the uniform di- 

 vision of the year into eighteen months of equal 

 duration, it would have been easy for the Mexi- 

 cans, to denote the periods of historical events 

 by recording the day of the month, and reckon- 

 ing the number of years which had passed since 

 the famous sacrifice of Tlalixco. This simple 

 and natural method would without doubt have 

 been followed, if the annals of the empire had 

 not been kept by the priests, teopixqui. We 

 sometimes find, it is true, the hieroglyphic of a 

 month, to which are added round points, placed 

 in two unequal rows, proving by their disposi- 



