And not only do we find this tradition of the Garden of Eden in the Old
World, but it meets us also among the civilized races of America. The
elder Montezuma said to Cortez, "Our fathers dwelt in that happy and
prosperous place which they called Aztlan, which means whiteness. . . .
In this place there is a great mountain in the middle of the water which
is called Culhuacan, because it has the point somewhat turned over
toward the bottom; and for this cause it is called Culhuacan, which
means 'crooked mountain.'" He then proceeds to describe the charms of
this favored land, abounding in birds, game, fish, trees, "fountains
enclosed with elders and junipers, and alder-trees both large and
beautiful." The people planted "maize, red peppers, tomatoes, beans, and
all kinds of plants, in furrows."
Here we have the same mountain in the midst of the water which Plato
describes--the same mountain to which all the legends of the most
ancient races of Europe refer.
The inhabitants of Aztlan were boatmen. (Bancroft's "Native Races," vol.
v., p. 325.) E. G. Squier, in his "Notes on Central America," p. 349,
says, "It is a significant fact that in the map of their migrations,
presented by Gemelli, the place of the origin of the Aztecs is
designated by the sign of water, Atl standing for Atzlan, a pyramidal
temple with grades, and near these a palm-tree.
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