[Illustration: LAKE TEZCUCO, 1400 +] A PRINCE OF ANAHUAC A HISTORI-TRADITIONAL STORY ANTEDATING THE AZTEC EMPIRE BY JAMES A. PORTER GALION, OHIO THE CRAWFORD COMPANY PUBLISHERS CINCINNATI Press of C. T. Krebbiel 248-250 WALNUT STREET Copyright, 1894, by James A. Porter. All Rights Reserved. Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed. The Table of Contents was not present in the original text and has been produced for the reader's convenience. Text printed in italics is noted with underscores (_italics_). Diacritical marks that cannot be represented in plain text are shown in the following manner where "x" stands in for the letter: [=x] letter with macron above. CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I XXI II XXII III XXIII IV XXIV V XXV VI XXVI VII XXVII VIII XXVIII IX XXIX X XXX XI XXXI XII XXXII XIII XXXIII XIV XXXIV XV XXXV XVI XXXVI XVII XXXVII XVIII XXXVIII XIX XXXIX XX XL PREFACE. In placing this volume before the public we would ask the critical reader to regard with leniency its imperfections, in view of the fact that an exigency, arising through serious misfortune to the writer, made the issue a necessity. The narrative is based upon the Tezcucan historian, Ixtlilxochitl's, brief account of the overthrow of his ancestral government by Tezozomoc, the Tepanec king, in 1418; and its restoration, under Prince Nezahualcoyotl, eight or ten years later. The wonderful experience of Nezahualcoyotl--Hungry Fox--(abbreviated, for convenience, to 'Hualcoyotl) is made the nucleus around which the story is woven. So far as possible, the incidents related of him, his condemnation to death by Maxtla, the son and successor of Tezozomoc, his remarkable escapes therefrom, and other personal trials, have been given in accordance with the historian's account. The descriptive portions, including what relates to the country and manners of the people, are based upon conclusions drawn from reading a traditional history, and, therefore, to some extent, hypothetical; yet are, no doubt, quite as correct as a great deal of what has been written and put out as authentic. The narrative is a representation of the writer's conception as to how the triumph of Tezcuco over her oppressors might have been brought about, together with such incidental situations and characterization as appear best suited to make it attractive. Whether or not success has been attained in the work, the public must decide.