PREFACE.

We have already given to the public two volumes upon the Indians of North and South America. The first, entitled "Lives of Famous Indians," presented the history of some of the master spirits of the red race; the second, entitled a "History of the American Indians,” was designed to furnish a brief outline of their story, from the earliest existing records to the present time.

We now offer a view of the Manners, Customs, and Antiquities of the Indians, both of the northern and southern portion of the Continent. The subject is exceedingly fertile in curious phenomena, and, though our brief space confines us to mere sketches, we believe enough is presented to enlist the sympathy of the reader, and to open new sources of deep and touching interest. The picture of one of the great families of our race living apart from the rest of the world, and working out their destiny in isolation,-presenting the spectacle of man's progress when left as a savage without contact with civilization

for ages, cannot fail to urge a strong claim to our attention. The varied phases of humanity, under such circumstances, will be found to suggest many new views of human nature, and will doubtless lead to many useful reflections.

THE MEXICAN INDIANS.

WHEN Cortés landed upon the coast of Mexico, in 1519, the country immediately around the city of Mexico, bore the general name of Anahuac. This embraced several states, which at this period constituted the proper kingdom of the emperor, Montezuma, though he exercised domain over a much wider territory. The regions occupied by the Mexicans, had been long peopled, but the early inhabitants were savages. A nation called Toltecs came hither from the north, probably in the seventh century, and settled there. These were skilled in