This speaks of the advance of a body of men from the neighbourhood of Vera Cruz to the Mexican plateau, and precisely in the direction whence the trade-wind comes—that is, from the east, the direction of the land of the Huaxtecs, a people of proto-Maya stock. Quetzalcoatl is dressed in Huaxtec garb, and wears the truncated sugar-loaf hat and shell-ornaments of this people. This may signify nothing more than that he was so attired because he represented a wind which blew from the direction of the land of the Huaxtecs. Yet, it is certain that several of the deities adopted by the Mexicans had undoubtedly a Huaxtec origin, and this is markedly the case with Tlazoltcotl. There seems to be some ground, then, for the hypothesis that Quetzalcoatl was a god of Huaxtec origin. But the acceptance of such a theory will entail the acknowledgment of certain hypotheses which are among the most controverted questions in Mexican archæology. In the first place, it makes Quetzalcoatl the deity of a people of Maya stock, and secondly it would seem to imply a Huaxtec or Maya origin for the much-debated Toltec culture. A discussion of these points must begin with the question, “Has the myth of Quetzalcoatl’s civilizing mission to the Mexican plateau any historical justification?” Regarding the reality of the civilization known as Toltec there is now no question, although I fully admit that it took me a long time to realize this, thanks principally to my acceptance of Brinton’s well-known theory on the subject, to which I attached far too much weight. But admitting Toltec reality, what proof do we possess that such a civilizing agency as that of Quetzalcoatl gave an impetus to the “prehistoric” culture of Tollan? But little—that is if we are to regard Quetzalcoatl as a man. But in his guise as the gentle trade-wind that ushers in the rains, we have every reason to see in him the founder of the Toltec civilization. Such a culture as the Toltec must undoubtedly have had its origin in agricultural efficiency. Only through agricultural efficiency can the corvée system arise and extensive building become possible. The god whose bountiful patronage of growth assisted the arts in this manner seems in time to have been ‘humanized.’ [165] Legends of his civilizing prowess clustered around his supposititious memory, he was thought to have been a culture-hero who actually moved and had his being among the people. Kings or rulers were called by his name—a lucky name of happy associations—and the illusion that he actually existed was thereby heightened. These rulers seem to have flourished in Mexico ere yet the offices of king and priest had become separate, so that it is not surprising that Quetzalcoatl was regarded as having been the priest of his own cult, or that the Mexican pontiffs of historical times bore his name. From this point of view, then, Quetzalcoatl was certainly the “founder” of the Toltec civilization. If this theory be accepted, I do not see how the