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appear to have been large, as he complained in 1608 of the deplorable state of misery to which the posterity of the kings of Texcoco were reduced. At this time he was employed as interpreter by the viceroy, which appointment he owed to his learning and skill in explaining the hieroglyphic pictures of the ancient Mexicans. He had also a profound knowledge of the traditions of his ancestors which were preserved in the national songs, and was intimate with several old Indians famous for their knowledge of Mexican history. He turned his own labors and those of his friends to account in composing works on the history of his country. They remained unknown until their importance was revealed by Clavigero, and afterward by Humboldt. The former says that they were written in Spanish by command of the viceroy, and were deposited in the library of the Jesuits in Mexico. There were copies also in other libraries. The history was divided into thirteen books or relations, many of which were repetitions of the former relations, and covered the period from the most ancient times to the destruction of the Mexican empire. The thirteenth book was printed under the title “Horribles crueldades de los conquistadores de Mexico y de los Indios, que los ayudaron en subyugar aquel imperio á la corona de España” (Mexico, 1829; translated into French by H. Ternaux-Compans, Paris, 1838). Afterward Ternaux-Compans, having obtained a complete copy of the whole thirteen books from Madrid, translated them into French under the title “Histoire des Chichimecas et des anciens rois de Tezcuco” (2 vols., Paris, 1840). This work is among the most authentic on the ancient history of Mexico. Both in style and critical discrimination it is superior to the histories of Spanish authors and it is free from their digressions and displays of learning. Prescott calls the author the Livius of Anahuac.

IZARD, Ralph, statesman, b. near Charleston, S. C, in 1742 ; d. in South Bay, near Charleston, 30 May, 1804. His grandfather was one of the founders of South Carolina. Ralph inherited a large estate in land and slaves, and was gradu- ated at Cambridge, Eng- land. He then returned to America, took pos- session of his estate, and passed much of his time in New York in the society of Lieut.-Grov. James De Lancey, whose niece, Alice, he married. In 1771 he settled in London, where he pos- sessed the friendship of Burke and other distin- guished men, and thence retired to the continent in 1774, in consequence of the strained relations

between the mother

country and the American colonies. While in England his friends there were desirous of presenting him at court, but he always declined the honor, because as a subject it would have been necessary for him to bow the knee, which he said he never would do to mortal man. On 30 Dec, 1776, congress appointed him a commissioner at the court of the grand-duke of Tuscany. He resided in Paris while so acting, and supported Arthur Lee against Silas Deane, Frank- lin, and other American agents in France. Izard returned to the United States on 10 July, 1780, and immediately repaired to Gen. Washington's head- quarters, where he happened to be when Arnold's treachery was discovered. He was instrumental in securing Gen. Greene's appointment to the south- ern army, and pledged his large estate as a security for the funds required for the purchase of ships-of- war in Europe. He was a delegate to the Conti- nental congress in 1782-3, U. S. senator from South Carolina from 1789 till 1795, and was president of the senate pro tempore during the first session of the 3d congress. He was a man of marked abil- ity and eloquence, and honest as a legislator, but his hasty temper and want of control rendered him incompetent as a diplomatist. No man en- joyed the confidence of Gen. Washington in a higher degree than he did. His " Correspondence from 1774 to 1784," with a short memoir, was pub- lished by his daughter, Anne Izard Deas (Bos- ton, 1844). — His son, George, soldier, b. in South Carolina in 1777; d.in Little Rock, Ark., 22 Nov., 1828, after completing a collegiate course and mak- ing the tour of Europe, was appointed a lieutenant of artillery, 2 June, 1794. He was engineer of forti- fications in Charleston harbor in 1798, became cap- tain in July, 1799, and aide to Gen. Hamilton on 16 Dec, 1799, but resigned in 1803. He was reappointed as colonel of the 2d artillery, 12 March, 1812, became brigadier-general, 12 March, 1813, and major-general, 24 Jan., 1814. He was governor of Arkansas territory from March, 1825, till his death. He published " Official Correspond- ence with the War Department in 1814 and 1815 " (Philadelphia, 1816). — Another son, Ralph, a lieu- tenant in the U. S. navy, was distinguished in the war with Tripoli. — George's son, James F., sol- dier, b. in Pennsylvania in 1811 ; d. in Camp Izard, on Withlacoochee river, Florida, 5 March, 1836, was graduated at the IT. S. military academy in 1828, and appointed 2d lieutenant of infantry. He was in garrison at Jefferson, Mo., and at Fort Niagara, was on topographical duty in 1831-'2, and served in the Black Hawk war in 1832. He became 1st lieutenant of dragoons on 4 March, 1833, and served in the Florida war. He died of wounds that he had received in a skirmish.

IZCOHUATL, or IZIOCATL (iss-co-wat'tel), emperor of Mexico, b. about the end of the 14th century; d. in 1436. He was an illegitimate son of the emperor Acamapichill, and ascended the throne of Mexico in 1427. The Mexicans regarded him at first with contempt, because his mother was a slave, but they appreciated him at last, for he inherited the virtues, prudence, valor, and talent of his father. The tyrant Maxtla, after having put Izcohuatl's brother, Chimalpopoca, to death, continued to oppress the Mexican nation, and the monarch determined to shake off the yoke. At that time Maxtla had also usurped the kingdom of Texcoco, and the legitimate king, Netzahualcoyotl, was a fugitive in the mountains of Tlaxcala, and as the king of Tlaltelolco was also dissatisfied with the tyrannical rule of Maxtla, Izcohuatl formed a league with him, and visited Netzahualcoyotl to offer him an alliance against the common enemy. The war continued 114 days, during which time the allies defeated the enemy in several battles. Maxtla was taken prisoner in 1431, and put to death by the king of Texcoco. In five years, during which Izcohuatl reigned in peace, he distinguished himself by his activity, and by adopting all the rules of Netzahualcoyotl, the king of Texcoco. He added several principalities to his dominions, and was the first ruler of the Aztecs to adopt the title of emperor. He was also the first to connect the islands of the lake of Texcoco with the mainland by causeways.