were easily dried by the sun and wind. Next to maize, cotton, cacao, aloe, pepper, and the grain called chia were the most important plants, though the first three could be grown only in districts where the climate was hot. Hunting, both individually and in communal drives, was practised by all the tribes, and the Mexicans generally were expert trackers and huntsmen. We hear of one drive organized for the Spaniards in which eleven thousand Otomi beaters took part, embracing a circle of fifteen miles. The chief weapons employed were bows, darts, blow-guns, nets and snares. Fishing
(Bodleian MS., Oxford)
was equally important, in fact more so among the tribes in the neighbourhood of lakes, nets and tridents being the principal appliances used. The invention of these was attributed to the god Opochtli, one of the Tlaloque. Fowling also gave employment to a large number of the population and contributed greatly to the food-supply.
With regard to the lighter side of life it would not be going too far to state that nearly all of the amusements of the Mexicans possessed a religious significance. It is true that the lords maintained jesters and tumblers, and that the performances of conjurers, as mentioned above, were much appreciated. But the national game, tlaxtli, was closely connected with the worship of the gods, and the tlaxtli-courts both at Mexico and in
