One of the great ceremonials of the Aztecs was the obtaining of the “new-fire,” admirably described by Prescott, according to his custom. “On the evening of the last day, a procession of the priests, assuming the dress and ornaments of their gods, moved from the capital towards a lofty mountain, about two leagues distant. They carried with them a noble victim, the flower of their captives, and an apparatus for kindling the new-fire, the success of which was an augury of the renewal of the cycle. On reaching the summit of the mountain, the procession paused till midnight; when as the constellation of the Pleiades approached the zenith, the new-fire was kindled by the friction of the sticks placed on the wounded breast of the victim. The flame was soon communicated to a funeral pile, on which the body of the slaughtered captive was thrown. As the light streamed up towards heaven, shouts of joy and triumph burst forth from the countless multitudes who covered the hills, the terraces of the temples, and the house-tops, with eyes bent anxiously on the mount of sacrifice. Couriers, with torches lighted at the blazing beacon, rapidly bore them over every part of the country; and the cheering element was seen brightening on altar and hearth-stone, for the circuit of many a league, long before the sun, rising on his accustomed track, gave assurance that a new cycle had commenced its march and that the laws of nature were not to be reversed for the Aztecs.”[327] [Illustration: ZUÑI WOMAN CARRYING WATER Shows also style of moccasin and leg wrapping worn by Puebloan and Navajo women ] New-fire was also obtained by friction, with the Aztecs, once each year, and once each four years, as well as at the fifty-two year cycle. In Arkansas it was produced every year. On a certain day, “as the sun began to decline the fires were extinguished in every hut, and universal silence reigned.”[328] A priest next produced fire by friction. “It was then brought out of the temple in an earthen dish and placed upon an altar that had been previously prepared in the square. Its appearance brought joy to the hearts of the people as it was supposed to atone for all past crimes except murder. A general amnesty was proclaimed except for this one crime, and all malefactors might now return to their villages in safety.”[329] The Mokis still produce the new-fire each November.[330]