which yielded a considerable revenue.[1] Very similar to the houses of Cortés was that of Pedro de Alvarado, situated in front of the arsenal. This proximity was objected to by the royal officers, who suspended the construction till potent reasons were produced to overrule the order.[2]
A great proportion of the material was obtained from the existing edifices and ruins, the incentive for tearing them down being increased by the hope of finding treasure. At this part of the work the Spaniards were foremost, and in their vandalistic strife monument after monument of Nahua art was razed, particularly the finer edifices. Even the huge pyramidal structures supporting the temples disappeared, for within them were graves of princes and nobles, known to contain treasure. Materials, especially for facades, were also obtained from the many quarries in the neighborhood, notably tetzontli, a red, porous, yet hard stone, and a kind of porphyry.[3] Oak, cedar, and cypress were abundant round the lake, and in the surrounding hills. Although there was no lack of carriers to fell and convey timber, the Spaniards, with a disregard fostered by the nude and arid soil of Castile, allowed the groves and forests near the lake-shores to be ruthlessly cut down, thus increasing the evaporation which soon left the lake ports high and dry, bordered by salt-marshes.
The first and most important structure in the city was the arsenal, with its fortified docks for sheltering the fleet. It was situated north-east of the main square, at the former terminus of the Calle de la Perpetua,[4] round a basin which had been used for
- ↑ Fifteen thousand castellanos a year, says a witness during the later residencia. Another points to the strong construction, with towers, as a sign of disloyal intentions on Cortés' part. The two houses occupied 24 lots, and were erected with aid of crown slaves — both exaggerated statements, as will be shown afterward. Cortés, Residencia, i. 47, 90, 111-12.
- ↑ The marriage of Governor Estrada's daughter to Jorge de Alvarado. Id.
- ↑ Á feld-spath vitreux et dépourvu de quartz.' Humboldt, Essai Pol., i. 177. See also Native Races, ii. 557.
- ↑ This was at first called the street of the atarazanas (arsenal). The direction is pretty clear in Libro de Cabildo, MS., 30, 101, 210, 221, 226, in con-
